Tag: DaKaari Nelson

2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 8 DaKaari Nelson

Should Penn State fans expect to see freshman DaKaari Nelson on the field in 2023?

Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.

Today we take a look at one of the newest additions to the program from the Class of 2023, safety [autotag]DaKaari Nelson[/autotag]. The Alabama native has a bright future ahead of him in the Penn State secondary, but fans may have to wait until after this season before he fits into his role in the defensive backfield. Here is a snapshot look at DaKaari Nelson heading into his true freshman season at Penn State.

Updated uniform numbers for Penn State football’s summer arrivals

What jersey numbers will Penn State’s latest additions be wearing this season? Here are the updated football jersey numbers.

Penn State’s roster continued to be rounded out with the recent addition of more members of its latest recruiting class and transfer additions officially joining the program. Some of the new additions should be key players for the upcoming season, including wide receiver Dante Cephas and cornerback Audavion Collins, each coming from FBS programs with the ability to plug a hole in the roster instantly. Others, like freshmen running backs London Montgomery and Cam Wallace, will add to the depth on the roster while waiting a bit longer to see their moment in the spotlight.

Now those new members of the Penn State family have confirmed jersey numbers for the 2023 season.

Here is a look at the officially confirmed uniform numbers for Penn State’s newest members to the program according to the team’s official online roster;

  • 3 – Dante Cephas, WR
  • 8 – DaKaari Nelson, S
  •  9 – King Mack, S
  • 23 – Trey Potts, RB
  • 24 – London Montgomery, RB
  • 26 – Cam Wallace, RB
  • 29 – Audavion Collins, CB
  • 39 – Ty Blanding, DT
  • 48 – Kaveion Keys, LB
  • 50 – Alonzo Ford, DT
  • 56 – Joseph Mupoyi, DE
  • 79 – Addison Penn, OL
  • 87 – Andrew Rappleyea, TE

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Penn State football locks in Class of 2023

Here is every player Penn State has announced in its Class of 2023.

Penn State’s start to the early signing period on Wednesday ended with the official signing of 22 members of its Class of 2023. The recruiting class is one balanced with offense and defense and will add some terrific quality and depth on the line of scrimmage a year after addressing some skill positions in the Class of 2022. And while the latest recruiting class didn’t necessarily go off without a mild bump in the road on the first day of the early signing period, it is getting head coach James Franklin excited about the program’s future.

Penn State made sure to sign some of the top players from in the state but also did some solid work beyond the state’s borders. This was especially true in Virginia as the Nittany Lions kicked the class off with the first commitment on the board from Virginia offensive lineman [autotag]Alex Birchmeier[/autotag] and continued to add help from the state right up until the final days of the recruiting efforts before the early signing period opened. In all, Penn State added players from nine different states ranging from Alabama to New York.

Here is the full rundown of the confirmed additions to the Penn State program in the Class of 2023.

James Franklin visits running back target in Georgia

James Franklin and his assistants made some key recruiting stops in the South on Wednesday.

College football’s early signing period opens next week, and James Franklin and the Penn State coaches are making the final sales pitches to recruiting targets to come to Penn State. As Franklin continues to work the south for talent to come north and play for the Nittany Lions, a recruiting stop in Georgia was on the agenda as he looks to secure a commitment for another running back in the Class of 2023.

Cameron Wallace, a three-star running back from Mount Vernon, Georgia, shared a photo on his Twitter account where he is posing with James Franklin, running backs coach and co-offensive coordinator Ja’Juan Seider, and safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter, along with his high school football coach. The visit took place Wednesday morning as Franklin and his staff were making some key recruiting visits down south.

Wallace visited Penn State in November and the Nittany Lions appear to be the favorite to secure his commitment in the Class of 2023. There are no crystal ball picks on record on 247Sports, but the On3 prediction machine calculates Penn State having a 93.6% chance of receiving his commitment. Georgia Tech is the second-most likely option for the in-state recruit in Georgia, but this one appears to be trending in Penn State’s direction quite favorably.

That was just one visit on the schedule for Franklin and his staff on Wednesday, however. Later in the day, Franklin and his assistants made their way down to Selma, Alabama to check in on one of Penn State’s top commitments in the current recruiting class, safety [autotag]Da’Kaari Nelson[/autotag].

The early signing period opens on December 21 and closes on December 23. It is expected Nelson and the vast majority of Penn State’s Class of 2023, including Nelson, will be signed in that time. And with a little luck, maybe Penn State will have one more commitment from Wallace to add to the stockpile.

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Penn State flips four-star safety Elliot Washington from Alabama

Penn State recruiting gets weekend started with a flip from Alabama

What a difference a day can make in the world of college football recruiting. A day after Penn State was on the wrong end of a handful of recruiting headlines, the Nittany Lions are riding into the weekend feeling a bit more optimistic on the recruiting trail. [autotag]Elliot Washington[/autotag], a four-star safety from Florida, announced he has flipped his commitment from Alabama to Penn State, marking a major recruiting victory for Penn State head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag].

Washington had been committed to Alabama even though he announced he was reopening his recruiting to explore a few more options. He never officially announced a decommitment from the Crimson Tide until announcing his new commitment to the Nittany Lions on his Twitter account on Friday afternoon.

Washington is the fourth highest-rated player in Penn State’s current Class of 2023 lineup according to 247Sports. The 5′-11″ safety is a speedster too with a successful background in track and field.

Last season for Venice High School, Washington had 58 tackles and four interceptions in 15 games as a key player for Venice’s run to a state championship.

Washignton made two official visits in the month of June. The first was to Penn State on June 10. Two weeks later, Washington visited Michigan State, and the Spartans began to trend as the favorite to secure his commitment. But as Penn State fans know all too well, sometimes the recruiting experts can be caught off guard as well.

Washington is the fourth safety on the board for Penn State in the Class of 2023. He joins a safety-heavy class that already includes [autotag]King Mack[/autotag], [autotag]DaKaari Nelson[/autotag], and [autotag]Conrad Hussey[/autotag]. All three of those players are also four-star players according to the 247Sports composite player rankings. Penn State has also added to its defensive secondary with cornerback [autotag]Lamont Payne[/autotag], one of its top in-state targets.

Penn State’s 2023 football commitment tracker

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Crystal ball predicts four-star offensive tackle to Penn State

Recruiting expert casts crystal ball pick for Penn State for this four-star offensive tackle

It is clear to see that Penn State has placed a good amount of emphasis on improving its offensive line depth and quality in the Class of 2023 recruiting cycle. And after spending a decent amount of time beginning to fill in other areas on the depth chart, another four-star offensive lineman could be making his way to Happy Valley.

[autotag]Evan Link[/autotag] is a four-star offensive tackle according to the 247Sports composite player ratings from Washington D.C., and it is beginning to look as though Penn State is the early favorite to secure his verbal commitment.

On Tuesday, Lions247 insider Tyler Calvaruso case the first official crystal ball prediction for Link on 247Sports. Calvarusso’s prediction favored Penn State. It is worth noting at the time of the crystal ball prediction going on record, Calvarusso was 16-for16 with his crystal ball predictions in the Class of 2023, including a number of recent Penn State commits such as [autotag]DaKaari Nelson[/autotag], [autotag]Tomarrion Parker[/autotag], and [autotag]King Mack[/autotag].

While still early to form a real outlook, the On3 recruiting prediction machine also gives Penn State a sizable advantage on the recruiting trail with a 52.7% chance of landing Link’s verbal commitment. Stanford is second in the running according to On3’s prediction machine with a 31.0% chance of receiving Link’s commitment.

In addition to Penn State and Stanford, Michigan appears to be the other viable contender on the recruiting trail for Link. Link visited all three schools in the month of June with Penn State getting the first visit, followed by Michigan a week later and culminating with an official visit to Stanford after that.

No commitment date for Link has been confirmed at this time, but this does set a positive tone for the Nittany Lions as we inch closer to a decision being finalized.

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Twitter reacts to latest Penn State four-star commitment in Class of 2023

Best Twitter reactions following DaKaari Nelson’s commitment to the Nittany Lions

Penn State received some great recruiting news this weekend when Alabama four-star safety [autotag]DaKaari Nelson[/autotag] announced his commitment to the program. Nelson adds to an already impressive Class of 2023 haul that remains highly ranked in the national recruiting rankings, and there could still be some more uplifting recruiting news to come for the Nittany Lions.

The addition of Nelson to the recruiting class certainly drew plenty of reactions after his Saturday afternoon commitment from head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] firing off his patented recruiting news tweet to other members of the Class of 2023 welcoming their newest recruiting classmate.

Here is a sampling of tweets reacting to the recruiting news.

Penn State adds four-star safety DaKaari Nelson to Class of 2023

Penn State is adding a four-star safety to its impressive Class of 2023 lineup.

Penn State continues to pull in some big-time players in its Class of 2023. On Saturdya, Penn State added a commitment from safety [autotag]DaKaari Nelson[/autotag] to its Class of 2023 haul. Nelson, a four-star safety from Selma, Alabama, chose Penn State over offers from Tennessee and Clemson, among a handful of others in his top six.

Nelson announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions on his Twitter account as some had expected him to leading up to the announcement. Nelson had been projected as a Penn State commitment by a sizable margin as his recruitment came down the final stretches. Nelson has visited Penn State’s campus multiple times and he had been viewed as a Penn Stae lean for quite some time.

Nelson is a 6′-3″ safety weighing in at 203 pounds according to his 247Sports recruiting profile. Recruiting analysts have scouted Nelson as a player that could play cornerback as well, providing Penn State with some potential roster flexibility in the defense.

This is the second four-star commitment from the state of Alabama of the week for James Franklin and his program. Earlier in the week, Penn State added a commitment from defensive lineman [autotag]Tomarrion Parker[/autotag].

Nelson is the 15th commitment to the Penn State Class of 2023, and he is the ninth commitment from outside of Pennsylvania.  Nelson is also the fourth player from an SEC state (two from Alabama, two from Florida).

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Class of 2023 recruiting profile: Safety DaKaari Nelson

Four-star safety DaKaari Nelson could be a perfect fit in Penn State’s defensive secondary.

[autotag]DaKaari Nelson[/autotag] is a safety recruit in the Class of 2023 with tremendous upside potential, according to recruiting analysts that have been scouting him these past few years.

Penn State has built a solid defensive secondary for years to come with recent recruiting efforts. Nelson would fit in perfectly with that overall vision for sustained success in the secondary as the safety position in particular is due for some notable changes in the next couple of years following the pending departures of [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] and [autotag]Keaton Ellis[/autotag].

Here is a quick profile rundown of Nelson, a prized recruit in the Class of 2023.

DaKaari Nelson’s Recruiting Profile

Crystal ball predicts DaKaari Nelson’s commitment

Penn State is favored to add a major commitment in the Class of 2023.

Penn State could be on the verge of some great news on the recruiting front this weekend. Four-star safety [autotag]DaKaari Nelson[/autotag], from Alabama, is set to make his college decision known. With the announcement coming up shortly, Penn State is being viewed as the favorite for Nelson’s commitment.

A pair of crystal ball predictions were filed to 247Sports in the past 24 hours, both making the prediction of Penn State being Nelson’s decision. Tyler Calvaruso of Lions247 is highly confident in his prediction, and 247Sports director of football recruiting Steve Wiltfong is also on the board with a Penn State prediction.

The On3 prediction machine also calculates an incredibly high percentage chance Penn State wins the recruitment battle. Penn State has a 95.8% chance to secure the Nelson commitment.

Nelson is expected to make his decision between Penn State, Clemson, and Tennessee.

Nelson most recently made an official visit to Penn State earlier this month (June 10), and he has made a trip to State College during his recruiting process with an unofficial visit last November.

Nelson is rated a four-star safety in the Class of 2023, and he is the No. 23 safety in the nation according to the 247Sports composite rankings. If Nelson picks up a commitment from Nelson, as is predicted, it would be the second four-star commit from the state of Alabama for Penn State this week. Earlier in the week, Penn State received a commitment from defensive lineman [autotag]Tomarrion Parker[/autotag]. Two four-star commits from Alabama in the same week would be a big success for Penn State and head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag].

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