Tag: Antoine Belgrave-Shorter

Penn State’s cornerbacks coach discusses potential contributing freshmen

Could any of these freshmen find a role in Penn State’s defense in 2024? An assistant coach offers his opinion.

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.

Biggest theme of Penn State’s 2024 class: balance

Penn State’s 2024 class offers one of the more balanced recruiting hauls in the country.

With the first and busiest day of the college football early signing period behind us, we can confirm that Penn State signed all 25 of its Class of 2024 commits earlier today. It was a “drama-free” signing day according to [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] who spoke after all the commits had signed. The class is now locked in for next year so let’s break it down.

Penn State returns a boatload of starting-caliber players from last season but will lose several starters to the NFL with more expected to announce in the coming month. Penn State has never been a heavy transfer portal school and relies mainly on keeping its returning players intact while reloading with a strong freshman class.

This years’ class is ranked 14th in the country by 247Sports Composite and 16th by On3. With 12 offensive commits and 13 defensive commits this year’s group is evenly balanced eluding to the fact that Franklin and his staff want to add quality depth around the board and fill in any neccessary holes from departing players.

From a positon standpoint is was more of the same type of balance across the board:

  • 7 skill players: QB [autotag]Ethan Grunkemeyer[/autotag], running backs [autotag]Quintin Martin[/autotag] and [autotag]Corey Smith[/autotag], wide recievers [autotag]Josiah Brown[/autotag], [autotag]Tyseer Denmark[/autotag], and [autotag]Peter Gonzalez[/autotag], tight end [autotag]Luke Reynolds[/autotag]
  • 5 offensive lineman: [autotag]Eagan Boyer[/autotag], [autotag]Caleb Brewer[/autotag], [autotag]Cooper Cousins[/autotag], [autotag]Donovan Harbour[/autotag], [autotag]Garrett Sexton[/autotag]
  • 6 defensive lineman: [autotag]Liam Andrews[/autotag], [autotag]DeAndre Cook[/autotag], [autotag]T.A. Cunningham[/autotag], [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag], [autotag]Jaylen Harvey[/autotag], and [autotag]Mylachi Williams[/autotag]
  • 5 secondary players: cornerbacks Antoine Belgrave-Shorter, Kenneth Woseley, Jon Mitchell, and safties Dejuan Lane, and Vaboue Toure
  • 2 linebackers: Kari Jackson and Anthony Specca

No one position or side of the ball dominated the 2024 recruiting cycle for Penn State, but thats a good thing because it shows that Penn State has talent everywhere. Three wide recievers were added to arguably the worst room in 2023 and a playmaking running back was added to a room featuring two former 5-star recruits. The trenches were reloaded with talent and many of the offensive line commits should challenge for starting spots in their first year.

In the time of the transfer portal and NIL perhaps a early signing day like the one Penn State had today is not exciting, but it does not matter Franklin’s method of “underpromise, overdeliver” method still produces wins. It has in the past. Penn State’s 2024 class is balanced, solid, and most importantly adds talent across the board which is key for sustained success.

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Which Class of 2024 players will enroll early at Penn State?

It looks like a good percentage of Penn State’s Class of 2024 will be on campus in January to get a jump with offseason workouts.

Now that Penn State has officially signed its Class of 2024 on the first day of the early signing period, or at least all of the commitments they had lined up, the page is quickly turning forward. Not to look past the upcoming Peach Bowl against Ole Miss later this month, but winter workouts and spring football will be here before you know it! And it seems a good percentage of Penn State’s Class of 2024 is expected to be on campus and ready to get started working with their new teammates and coaches.

Here are the players in Penn State’s Class of 2024 that are reportedly expected to enroll early in January and get started with the program:

  • DL [autotag]Liam Andrews[/autotag]
  • DB [autotag]Antoine Belgrave-Shorter[/autotag]
  • OL [autotag]Eagan Boyer[/autotag]
  • WR [autotag]Josiah Brown[/autotag]
  • DL [autotag]De’Andre Cook[/autotag]
  • OL [autotag]Cooper Cousins[/autotag]
  • DL [autotag]T.A. Cunningham[/autotag]
  • DL [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag]
  • QB [autotag]Ethan Grunkemeyer[/autotag]
  • DL [autotag]Jaylen Harvey[/autotag]
  • LB [autotag]Kari Jackson[/autotag]
  • RB [autotag]Quinton Martin[/autotag]
  • DB [autotag]Jon Mitchell[/autotag]
  • TE [autotag]Luke Reynolds[/autotag]
  • OL [autotag]Garrett Sexton[/autotag]
  • DB [autotag]Vaboue Toure[/autotag]

Every other member of Penn State’s Class of 2024 will join the program in the summer.

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Early Signing Day Tracker: Say hello to Penn State’s Class of 2024

The early signing period for college football is officially open as schools around the country are locking in their entire, if not the vast majority, of their recruiting classes for the Class of 2024. Penn State will be among the schools expecting …

The early signing period for college football is officially open as schools around the country are locking in their entire, if not the vast majority, of their recruiting classes for the Class of 2024. Penn State will be among the schools expecting to receive signed National Letters of Intent from their verbal commitments to make things official. There could always be a player or two who hold off until the traditional signing period in February for one reason or another, but Penn State is hoping for a pretty simple and straightforward opening to the early signing period.

Here is a look at each player who committed to Penn State in the Class of 2024 recruiting calendar and an update on which players have signed in the early signing period.

Cincinnati, Penn State and Toledo each land commitment from a 3-star cornerback

The pieces are beginning to fall in place for the class of 2024.

The pieces are beginning to fall in place for the class of 2024. This past weekend saw a surge of recruiting in this cycle, including five different quarterbacks making their college commitments.

Then on Monday, a few schools all had the same idea: recruit three-star cornerback prospects from this class with similar builds. Here’s who they are and where they committed.

Zachary Rogers: Wylie E. Groves (Mich.) – Toledo

According to On3, Rogers (6-foot-0, 170 pounds) is ranked No. 27 in the state of Michigan and No. 105 among cornerbacks in his class. 12 other programs made offers, including Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Michigan State.

Antoine Belgrave-Shorter: Mandarin (Fla.) – Penn State

Going by the consensus rankings, Belgrave-Shorter (6-foot-0, 180 pounds) is currently No. 87 overall in Florida. He had 18 other offers on the table, including Florida Atlantic, Miami, UCF, USF and Florida State.

Daniel James: McEachern (Ga.) – Cincinnati

And last but not least, James (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) ranks No. 64 overall in the state of Georgia, according to 247Sports. He had 23 offers all together, including Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern and Georgia State.

More football stories

College football recruiting watchlist: USA TODAY Sports college wires weigh in on Class of 2023

Georgia adds third five-star recruit to their class of 2025

Four-star CB Selman Bridges says he “really likes Texas”

Penn State Class of 2024 recruiting profile: Three-star cornerback Antoine Belgrave-Shorter

Penn State made a point early on in the Class of 2024 recruiting cycle to address the depth at the cornerback position, and the early results nabbed a pair of teammates out of Jacksonville, Florida. Less than two weeks after securing a verbal …

Penn State made a point early on in the Class of 2024 recruiting cycle to address the depth at the cornerback position, and the early results nabbed a pair of teammates out of Jacksonville, Florida. Less than two weeks after securing a verbal commitment from Jon Mithcell, Penn State added a commitment from three-star cornerback Antoine Belgrave-Shorter to add to the recruiting success for the Class of 2024.

Belgrave-Shorter was Penn State’s second commitment in the recruiting cycle out of Florida, naturally joining Mithcell in that effort to establish a bit of a Florida pipeline, as James Franklin has attempted to build since taking on the role of head coach. Knowing how rich the state of Florida is with football talent, Penn State has made strides in recruiting down south, and Belgrave-Martin is the latest product of that overall recruiting mission.

Here is a snapshot look at the recruiting profile of Belgrave-Martin.

Penn State strikes in Florida again with commit from Antoine Belgrave-Shorter

Penn State adds its second commitment in 2024 out of Jacksonville in April with Antoine Belgrave-Shorter.

A week after locking in a commitment from a four-star player from Jacksonville, Florida, Penn State has struck once more. Antoine Belgrave-Shorter, a three-star cornerback from Jacksonville’s Mandarin High School, announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions in the Class of 2024 to give Penn State another member of its rising recruiting class in the days leading up to the annual Blue-White Game.

Belgrave-Shorter, a 6′-0″ 180-pound cornerback, visited Penn State recently in an unofficial capacity along with his high school teammate. Belgrave-Shorter is also scheduled to make an official visit to the campus later this summer.

Belgrave-Shorter is rated as a three-star recruit by 247Sports and On3, with both recruiting outlets ranking him as the 74th-best player overall out of the state of Florida.

The latest commitment to Penn State chose the Nittany Lions over offers from Duke, Wisconsin, Indiana, Miami, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and UCF. In addition to his recent visit to Penn State, Belgrave-Shorter also made a recent visit to Miami.

Belgrave-shorter joins his high school teammate Jon Mitchell, a four-star cornerback, in Penn State’s Class of 2024 lineup. Mitchell committed to Penn State on April 1.

Penn State’s Class of 2024 now includes eight players with the addition of Belgrave-Shorter.

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Penn State crystal ball prediction for 4-star cornerback

The crystal ball seems to favor Penn State for a key four-star cornerback in 2024.

Penn State has turned into an NFL machine churning out pro players time and again. This year their star draftee will be Joey Porter Jr. and because of that, they are seeing an influx of cornerback and defensive talent during his rise. The latest came in the way of four-star recruit Jon Mitchell committing to Penn State on Saturday and now he may be bringing someone with him.

Jon Mitchell had an official visit to State College on Saturday and while he made that visit he committed to Penn State. His commitment brought Penn State to 14th in 247Sports 2024 class rankings. They currently have five four-star recruits and a lone three-star recruit. According to 247Sports and their crystal ball, they may be on pace to add another.

Mitchell brought a teammate from his high school to visit Penn State with him on Saturday. That teammate is [autotag]Antoine Belgrave-Shorter[/autotag] who happens to be a fellow four-star recruit in the 2024 class. While Saturday served as an unofficial visit he does have an official one lined up for June. Before that official visit, Penn State is looking like the favorite on the 247Sports crystal ball.

Belgrave-Shorter himself even commented stating that Penn State is his “leader” after his unofficial visit with Mitchell. Cornerbacks coach Terry Smith and defensive coordinator Manny Diaz’s system should be able to utilize Belgrave-Shorter in a way that could incentivize him to commit with his teammate to further the growth of the program and the defense.

Belgrave-Shorter has visits lined up still with South Carolina and Miami, he also has received interest from other Penn State Big Ten rivals such as Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, and Wisconsin.

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