Tag: Anthony Donkoh

Penn State recruiting snapshot: 3-star offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh

Penn State tapped into the Virginia pipeline to land Anthony Donkoh. Snapshot profile of the Class of 2023 commit.

[autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] has always done a great job of recruiting from his local pipeline states but Virginia seems to be a hotbed. This year especially with so many players coming from the state just south of Pennsylvania. The latest to commit though? Offensive lineman [autotag]Anthony Donkoh[/autotag]. He is an absolute mountain of a young man.

Coming out of Virginia, expectations should be high for Donkoh despite the three-star grade by 247Sports. His rare size for his age shows he still has some growing to do not physically but technically. That is where James Franklin and his staff step in. If they can get Donkoh coached up and cleaned up technically then we may be looking at a monster of an offensive tackle.

Until then though, get to know the proud young man as he gets ready to complete his last year of high school before heading to Happy Valley in 2023.

Jameial Lyons kicks off Penn State’s Blue-White weekend with commitment

Penn State kicks off Blue-White Game weekend with a four-star commitment from Jameial Lyons

Penn State is wrapping up spring football practices this weekend with the annual Blue-White Game in Beaver Stadium, but the weekend is already off to a nice start for head coach James Franklin and his staff. [autotag]Jameial Lyons[/autotag], a four-star edge rusher from Philadelphia, gave his verbal commitment to the Nittany Lions on Friday afternoon.

Lyons has long been expected to be Penn State’s to lose on the recruiting trail. A four-star edge rusher according to his 247Sports recruiting profile, Lyons actually moved up his commitment date by a few months in order to commit to the Nittany Lions. Lyons previously wanted to make his announcement official in August, on his mother’s birthday, but the decision to move up the commitment date suggests there was little competition for Penn State to worry about.

Lyons chose Penn State over offers from West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Illinois, and Cincinnati (the other schools in his top five). But when it came to visits, Penn State hosted Lyons far more than the other candidates in the running, which is the big reason why recruiting insiders had been heavily leaning on Penn State for their official predictions for Lyons.

Lyons is the first defensive lineman to hop on board for Penn State’s Class of 2023. Much of the focus on Penn State’s current recruiting cycle has addressed the concerns on the offensive line. Of the nine commitments prior to Lyons, four were offensive linemen ([autotag]Alex Birchmeier[/autotag], [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Joshua Miller[/autotag], [autotag]Anthony Donkoh[/autotag]).

Penn State has picked up the verbal commitments of two of the top players in Pennsylvania, according to the 247Sports recruit rankings for the state. Williams is the top-rated recruit from the Keystone State, and Lyons is No. 13. Cornerback [autotag]Lamont Payne[/autotag] is the No. 10 recruit from Pennsylvania. There could be more success from within the state on the way at some point as well. Edge rusher [autotag]Ta’Mere Robinson[/autotag] (No. 3 overall in Pennsylvania) from Pittsburgh is widely projected to commit to Penn State, as is linebacker [autotag]Phil Picciotti[/autotag] of Perkasie (No. 8 in PA). At the moment, the only in-state recruit in the top 10 to get away from Penn State has been linebacker Josiah Trotter, who recently committed to West Virginia.

The commitment of Lyons is the first big headline from what is typically an important recruiting weekend for Penn State. Whether or not more commitments are on their way this weekend remains to be seen, but the spring game for any school is always used as a nice recruiting tool, and Franklin will hope to make a good sales pitch to any recruits in attendance this weekend.

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Penn State’s big recruiting weekend includes visit from USC commit

USC and Utah commits among those visiting Penn State after first week of spring football practices

Penn State is wrapping up its first week of spring football practices with a big recruiting weekend. Penn State is hosting a number of recruits this weekend, opening the doors to spring football practices to current commits and targets in the next three recruiting cycles.

Lions247 has a full list of players scheduled to make a visit to Penn State this weekend. Among the players visiting includes a number of Class of 2022 commits who have not been able to enroll early, including Cornell transfer offensive lineman [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag] and Lackawanna College JUCO transfer [autotag]Tyrece Mills[/autotag]. [autotag]Drew Shelton[/autotag], another prize in the recruiting class for 2022 is also set to be in town.

Some members of the Class of 2023 are also checking out the scene this weekend with [autotag]Alex Birchmeier[/autotag] and [autotag]Anthony Donkoh[/autotag] scheduled to be making a visit. Penn State will also be hosting a number of targets in the Class of 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Among the recruits visiting Penn State in the Class of 2025 is currently committed to USC. Defensive back Arron White has been a hard commit to the Trojans since last September, before the coaching change with the program, so it remains to be seen just how serious a candidate Penn State will ultimately be for White, who is an Orange, California native. Regardless, having White on campus is still noticeable for a player not scheduled to join the college ranks for another three years.

White isn’t the only Pac-12 commit in town either. Wide receiver Kobe Boykin, another product out of Orange, California, is currently committed to Utah’s Class of 2024. Could Penn State manage to flip a couple of Pac-12 commits? Time will tell, but Penn State will hope to leave a solid impression on these and other recruits this weekend.

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Penn State recruiting: Anthony Donkoh commits to Class of 2023

Penn State continues to address the offensive line in the Class of 2023 with its latest commitment

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If there was one particular area of need to improve through recruiting for Penn State, it was the offensive line. And early on in the Class of 2023 recruiting cycle, it is clear James Franklin and his staff are focusing on addressing its offensive line depth. On Friday, Penn State received a commitment from Anthony Donkoh, a three-star offensive lineman recruit from Virginia who was high on Penn State’s list according to multiple scouting services.

Donkoh, who measures 6′-5″ and 310 pounds, will be used on the inside of the offensive line, adding good size to the depth chart in the interior of the line. Donkoh was the eighth-ranked player from the fertile recruiting state of Virginia. He reportedly held offers from Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Liberty, and Duke in addition to his offer from Penn State.

Donkoh visited Penn State for a junior day event earlier this month. Just this week, Donkoh received offers from Duke and Virginia Tech just before accepting his offer from Penn State. Donkoh has stated his recruitment is now closed and he will not be making any other visits.

Donkoh is the third offensive lineman in Penn State’s growing Class of 2023. Five-star Alex Birchmeier and Joshua Miller, another three-star recruit out of Virginia, were already lined up in the Class of 2023 for the Nittany Lions.

Donkoh has also proven to be a standout on the defensive side of the football as well. In addition to earning second-team all-conference honors as a junior while playing offensive line, Donkoh also received first-team all-conference honors as a defensive lineman.

It is unlikely Penn State will have Donkoh playing defensive line once he arrives in Happy Valley, but this may be a suggestion of the kind of talent Penn State is adding to its roster.

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