Tag: De’Andre Cook

Penn State player availability report for Kent State updated

Penn State has posted its player availability report for today’s game against Kent State.

Penn State will be without one of its top defensive players on the roster this weekend when the Nittany Lions host Kent State for a mid-Saturday afternoon non-conference matchup. Head coach James Franklin announced this week that the team will be without safety, Kevin Winston Jr., for an extended period of time due to a long-term injury. This week’s player availability confirmed that for this week with Winston Jr. being among the players officially ruled out on the Penn State player availability report.

Big Ten teams are required to provide a player availability report prior to their respective games each week as part of a new conference policy put into place for the 2023 season.

The following players were listed as out for Penn State for the Kent State game.

  • [autotag]Kevin Winston Jr.[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jaxon Smolik[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Kari Jackson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Keon Wylie[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Zuriah Fisher[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Mason Robinson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Mehki Flowers[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Peter Gonzalez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Andrew Rappleyea[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Sam Siafa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Liam Andrews[/autotag]
  • [autotag]De’Andre Cook[/autotag]
  • [autotag]T.A. Cunningham[/autotag]

Penn State hosts Kent State at 3:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.

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Penn State player availability report for Week 1 at West Virginia

Penn State’s updated player availability reports confirms a couple of players expected to be out of action.

Penn State’s first road trip to open the season will see the roster without a number of players available. Penn State’s player availability report was released two hours before kicking off at West Virginia, and a total of 14 players have officially been ruled out of action.

Some of the names appearing on the list were not surprising to see. Linebacker Keon Wylie has previously been reported to be out of action for a significant period of time since the spring. Backup quarterback Jaxon Smolik was also banged up with an undisclosed injury during camp.

One of the notable players to miss the West Virginia game includes tight end Khalil Dinkins, who is expected to be a key alternative to star Tyler Warren at the position. James Franklin did note this week that Dinkins had been getting banged up leading up to the game, however.

The following players have been ruled out for Penn State in Week 1:

  • [autotag]Jaxon Smolik[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Khalil Dinkins[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Mylachi Williams[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Kari Jackson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Keon Wylie[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Zuriah Fisher[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Mason Robinson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Peter Gonzalez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jerry Cross[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Sam Siafa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Liam Andrews[/autotag]
  • [autotag]De’Andre Cook[/autotag]
  • [autotag]T.A. Cunningham[/autotag]

Big Ten schools are required to provide a player availability report no later than two hours prior to a scheduled kickoff. The policy was put into effect in 2023 and has seen a few conferences follow that idea in 2024.

West Virginia has not had any reported injuries this week. The Big 12 does not have the same kind of rules requiring player availability reports for its members. The SEC and MAC each enacted a similar policy beginning this season following the Big Ten’s lead.

Penn State and West Virginia kick off the season with their game at noon Eastern on Fox.

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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.

Recruiting snapshot: Penn State’s newest defensive lineman in 2024, De’Andre Cook

A snapshot look at Penn State’s newest commitment in the Class of 2024.

Penn State picked up a pair of defensive linemen in its Class of 2024 during the month of June, giving new defensive lines coach Deion Barnes a pair of players to coach from the ground up. One of those commitments came from [autotag]De’Andre Cook[/autotag] at the end of the month.

Cook is a three-star prospect with room to grow under Barnes. The Washington D.C. recruit will join a loaded recruiting class heading to Happy Valley in the Class of 2024 that is enjoying time in the top 10 of the national recruiting rankings. Given Penn State’s history of developing stars on the defensive line, there is some good potential to watch Penn State turn Cook into a bit of a hidden gem, although he was attracting offers from some notable schools that tend to attract some big-name stars as well.

Here is a snapshot look at one of Penn State’s newest members of the Class fo 2024.

Penn State adds commitment from DL De’Andre Cook in 2024

Penn State closes out the month of June with another defensive line commitment for 2024

Penn State has made a habit of starting off a summer weekend with some recruiting buzz lately, and this weekend is no different. [autotag]De’Andre Cook[/autotag], a three-star defensive lineman from Washington D.C. got the weekend off to a good start with his commitment to the Penn State Class of 2024.

Cook’s commitment to Penn State comes a couple of weeks after an official visit to the campus in the middle of June. He committed to Penn State over offers from Boston College, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Rutgers. He was originally scheduled to announce his commitment on July 1 but decided to move up his announcement to Friday the last day of June instead.

Cook is a three-star recruit according to his 247Sports recruiting profile. He is a top-five player in Washington D.C. and a top 100 defensive lineman in the nation. The 6′-4″, 260-pound recruit out of Friendship Collegiate Academy credited his relationship with Penn State defensive line coach Deion Barnes as a significant factor in his decision.

Cook is Penn State’s second defensive lineman in the Class of 2024, a recruiting class that continues to rank in the top 10 of the country across recruiting services. He joins [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag], who joined the class at the beginning of June.

It was certainly a productive month on the recruiting trail for Penn State. The recruiting class now has 21 commitments on the board.

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A look at recent Oklahoma Sooners offer, 3-Star DL DeAndre Cook

The Oklahoma Sooners offered 2024 DL prospect DeAndre Cook.

The Oklahoma Sooners are working to build up their defensive line as they get ready for life in the SEC. To that end, Oklahoma has offered 2024 three-star defensive lineman De’Andre Cook.

Cook is 6-foot-4 and weighs 250 pounds. He plays high school football at Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington, DC. He appears to be a player on the rise.

He has 23 scholarship offers with 17 of those offers from Power Five schools.

When you watch Cook’s high school tape, his talent is abundantly clear. He has great burst off the line of scrimmage and he displays really good athleticism. Cook shows really good technique, which allows him to get penetration and make plays in the backfield.

Cook is a perfect fit for an aggressive defensive line that Brent Venables wants to deploy. He has room to grow, especially in the weight room, but he already stands out and would be a great fit with the Sooners.

De’Andre Cook’s Recruiting Profile

Projections

  • On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine projection: nothing is official just yet, but Penn State is leading at 37.6% for now, according to On3.

Film

Hudl

Penn State extends scholarship offers to 2024 DL De’Andre Cook

Weekend Class of 2024 visitor receives scholarship offer from Penn State

Penn State had a pretty big recruiting weekend as the calendar flipped from March to April. In addition to picking up a commitment in the Class of 2024, the Nittany Lions also extended an offer to a defensive lineman on the radar in the current recruiting cycle. De’Andre Cook, who was visiting Penn State over the weekend, announced, via Twitter, he has received an offer from Penn State.

Penn State joins a growing list of schools with offers on the table for Cook, a Washington D.C. three-star recruiting target. In addition to the offer from Penn State, Cook also holds offers from Alabama, USC, Michigan State, Maryland, Duke, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Washington, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and more.

Cook is listed at 6′-3″ and 260 lb on his recruiting profile from 247Sports. The Friendship Collegiate Academy would seem to have a good chance to be a prospect that could thrive in being developed at Penn State with the school’s history of developing linemen. 247Sports ranks Cook as the fourth-best player overall in Washignton D.C. and the 60th defensive lineman in the nation.

Penn State figures to be a player in the recruiting battle for Cook’s commitment moving forward, but the On3 recruiting prediction machine currently doesn’t have Penn State among the top schools. Of course, the recruiting outlook is fairly wide open right now with Maryland leading with a 14.3% chance of securing a commitment at the last update to the prognostication.

Now that an offer is on the table, maybe Penn State will work its way into the conversation.

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De’Andre Cook gets offered by Rutgers football, one hour later by Michigan State

Sophomore defensive lineman De’Andre Cook gets offered by Rutgers football and Michigan State on Wednesday.

Class of 2024 defensive lineman De’Andre Cook got an offer from Rutgers football on Wednesday. It proved to be a very busy day for Cook, as the Scarlet Knights were the first of three teams to offer the talented recruit.

Cook is a 6-foot-3, 260-pound defensive lineman from Friendship Collegiate Academy (Washington, D.C.). The sophomore is coming off a strong season after a 3-7 season for his program. Earlier in the week, he pulled down offers from Maryland and Bowling Green.

And then after getting an offer from Rutgers on Wednesday, Cook then got offered by Michigan State and Toledo.

Before his flurry of three offers on Wednesday, Cook had offers from Boston College, Charlotte, Delaware State and Vanderbilt.

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Cook tweeted about the offer from Rutgers on Wednesday night.

 

It was a busy Wednesday night for Rutgers football as the program offered Cook and also secured a commitment from Dauvon Fuse.

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A three-star linebacker, Fuse is a versatile athlete who also plays quarterback.