Penn State had a fantastic signing day, locking up all 25 of their commits and having no drama surround their program on a day that can become filled with potential commits signing elsewhere.
On the recruiting front, the Nittany Lions’ coaching staff will turn their attention towards future classes and continue to try and build another elite class that has become the norm under [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag].
As far as the on field product goes, the next question that presents itself is which one of the incoming freshman could become impact players in their first season in the program?
Penn State had five players, all on the defensive side of the ball, forego their redshirt seasons during the 2023-24 campaign. Linebacker [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag], defensive end [autotag]Jameial Lyons[/autotag], safety [autotag]King Mack[/autotag] and corners [autotag]Zion Tracy[/autotag] and [autotag]Elliott Washington[/autotag] all contributed in limited roles.
Cornerbacks coach, Terry Smith, was asked which players in the 2024 class could follow that mold and become contributors immediately in their first year by Ryan Snyder of On3 (paid subscription required).
He immediately looked to his position group as the Nittany Lions have three players entering the NFL draft.
Smith said that [autotag]Jon Mitchell[/autotag] and [autotag]Antoine Belgrave-Shorter[/autotag] are two players to watch since they are enrolling in January and will get to work within the program as soon as possible.
He notes that it will come down to if they can make the transition from the high school level to high-major Power 5 football and adjust to the processing speed it takes to recognize what is happening during the play.
Talent-wise he thinks Mitchell and Belgrave-Shorter have the tools to be contributors, but it will come down to making that adjustment.
As far as the offensive side of the ball, he has his eye on running back, [autotag]Quentin Martin[/autotag], who is a Top-100 player.
Even in a loaded running back room with [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] and [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] coming back, Martin is an explosive playmaker and could be used in the passing game early on as he is considered the best receiver in the room already.