Tag: Antonio Branch

Deion Sanders flips four-star cornerback out of Penn State commitment

Coach Prime flipped another high profile recruit in safety Antonio Branch, who was previously committed to Penn State.

Coming off a big win over the Baylor Bears in Week 4, Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes picked up another victory Monday, this one coming on the recruiting trail.

Antonio Branch Jr, a four-star safety prospect from Miami, took an official visit to Colorado this weekend and left having flipped his commitment from Penn State to the Buffaloes. Branch becomes the eighth commitment for Sanders and the Buffs in the 2025 class.

Branch’s mother Trina spoke about Antonio’s experience on his visit, and what went into his decision to flip.

“I would say it’s a good potential fit because he has an opportunity to start as a true freshman,” Trina said. “Who wouldn’t want to be coached by Deion Sanders. Someone that played the same position Antonio is playing.”

Coach Prime and the Buffs are 3-1 so far in 2024, losing on the road at Nebraska but taking down in-state rival Colorado State in Week 3 and winning their first Big 12 matchup on Saturday, 38-31, over the Baylor Bears.

Four-star CB Antonio Branch commits to Penn State

Penn State is on a roll with another four-star cornerback in the Class of 2025 with Antonio Branch.

It’s been a good week so far for Penn State on the recruiting trail after suffering a couple rough defeats in the battle for top targets in the 2025 class and beyond.

However, that’s not going to stop James Franklin and his staff from turning the page and going after others who they want to get into their program.

The run this week started with four-star cornerback from New Jersey, Jahmir Joseph, verbally committing to the Nittany Lions, and they have now landed their second commitment of the week in four-star defensive back [autotag]Antonio Branch[/autotag].

The Florida native is listed as a cornerback in his class but is likely going to become a safety at the next level as he’s already 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds heading into his senior high school season.

This is a big win for Penn State.

He took an official visit to Happy Valley the weekend of May 31 and that left enough of an impression on him to decided this was the program for him.

Branch talked about the relationships he established with the coaching staff during his process, and that became even more prevalent when he was on campus.

The four-star decided to cancel his official visit with the University of Florida when he cut his list of schools down to three, leaving Penn State to battle it out between Louisville and Nebraska.

Branch is scheduled to take an official visit to Louisville this upcoming weekend, but there is no word if that has been cancelled following his verbal commitment to the Nittany Lions.

This marks another win for Franklin and his staff down in Florida as they have really been able to land some top talent coming out of that state. The connections [autotag]Ja’Juan Seider[/autotag] and new defensive coordinator [autotag]Tom Allen[/autotag] have in the state should only allow them to continue recruiting that area well.

Branch’s commitment now brings Penn State’s 2025 class up to 16 players.

Info coming out of Penn State’s first official visit weekend

Penn State had a busy weekend of recruiting with a number of official visits from top recruiting targets.

Penn State entered its first official visit weekend that just wrapped up with many of the top targets coming to Happy Valley to get a better look at the program.

As one of the first dates on the calendar for multiple recruits in this crop, this served as an important time for the Nittany Lions to cement themselves at the top of the board, or to ensure they stay in consideration as more trips are taken.

Even though there is still time for [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and his staff to continue to working on gaining commitments, they ideally will start adding to their tally of 13 to fortify their 2025 class.

Because this was such an important weekend, information coming out from different prospects who made the trip is paramount in determining who is a realistic target at this point and who might be taken off the board heading into the upcoming official visits still on the calendar.

Sean Fitz of On3 was able to gather some intel and share what he’s heard so far from players coming out of this trip (subscription required).

Close to Commitment

There has been an expectation for a while that Penn State would eventually land instate wide receiver [autotag]Lex Cyrus[/autotag] who is rated as a four-star recruit. He’s taken six trips to Happy Valley, the most out of any school, and is one of their top priorities.

Fitz seems to think that’s coming as he said he’s close to putting an official pick in for the Nittany Lions to land the speedster.

Cyrus is taking an official visit to South Carolina this upcoming weekend, the other program who is really in the mix to land him, however, Penn State has done a good job throughout this process and could be gaining another receiver commitment soon.

Feeling Good

Some of the Nittany Lions’ top defensive back targets made their way to campus this weekend, and information is coming out that they were able to stay in good standing as the recruits left.

Four-star cornerback [autotag]Brandon Finney[/autotag] became a priority and it seems like Penn State is in good standing following this weekend even as he has more trips on his calendar.

Fitz said that the visit from [autotag]Antonio Branch[/autotag] went really well and the Nittany Lions are still at the top of his board saying that a decision could be coming soon and that he’s been close to locking in a commitment with Penn State.

What might have been the most important development is regarding four-star Texas linebacker [autotag]Max Granville[/autotag]. Fitz reports that the Nittany Lions are feeling “very good” about where they stand in his recruitment right now. It’s going to be a battle holding off USC, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M as he’s set to visit those campuses, but they like where they’re at following his visit.

Positive Buzz

Consensus four-star corner [autotag]Graceson Littleton[/autotag] seemed like bit of a longshot entering this official visit, but it seems like they made another good impression on the Florida native prior to him heading out to see Alabama, Oklahoma, and Iowa.

Elite wide receiver [autotag]Quincy Porter[/autotag] made his way for an important visit, and despite some pessimism that he actually views Penn State as a viable option with Michigan and Ohio State recruiting him hard, this trip seemed to have landed well for the No. 46 player in this class.

One of their other top wide receiver targets [autotag]Corey Simms[/autotag] reportedly had a “really good weekend” as he likes the staff and enjoyed his trip to Happy Valley. He’s always been viewed as a longshot, but this certainly helped their chances.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, there wasn’t much to suggest the Nittany Lions are going to secure commitments in the upcoming days, but that has rarely happened for this program during the first major official visit weekend.

Outside of Cyrus and Branch, who already seemed close to picking Penn State, there isn’t certainty that they’re going to land many of the recruits who were on campus.

However, they certainly made a good impression on many of their top targets, one of the main goals anytime the Nittany Lions host prospects in an official capacity, and that could loom large throughout the remainder of their processes.

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