There were a lot of things going on for Penn State in Happy Valley this past weekend. Not only was the town hosting the Elite 11 regionals where top quarterbacks across the country came to try and stamp their ticket to the prestigious final event, but they were also hosting their first official visit in the 2025 class.
Originally, [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and his staff weren’t going to have officials start until the last weekend of May, but when one of their top targets, [autotag]Iose Epenesa[/autotag], couldn’t make any of the dates on the calendar, they created a new one just for him.
That comes with good reason as well.
The consensus four-star edge rusher is ranked as the 34th-best player in the country and No. 3 at his position according to On3’s Industry Rankings.
Viewed as a longshot in his recruitment, the Nittany Lions were presented with an opportunity to put themselves into consideration when Epenesa gets ready to announce his commitment.
It sounds like they did just that after some information came out following his trip to Happy Valley.
In a conversation with Steve Wiltfong of On3, he called his experience “great” and “a pleasant surprise.” When expanding further, the 2025 recruit said he wasn’t too familiar with the Nittany Lions prior to this trip but came away impressed with the family atmosphere and the state of the program because former players come back to visit and coach. As far as his fit, he thinks he can succeed based on how Penn State utilizes his defensive ends (subscription required).
That’s a great sign for the Nittany Lions.
All they can hope for is that they did enough to put themselves in serious contention as he goes through the remainder of his official visits.
On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Iowa as the favorite to land him, which should come as no surprise considering his older brother A.J. played for the Hawkeyes.
However, Epenesa’s family came out of the trip impressed as well. They told Wiltfong they “had a great time” and liked what they saw from the facilities, coaching staff, strength coach, and academics.
It still seems like an uphill battle for Penn State, but it will be interesting to see where this recruitment goes as he gets closer to his commitment date.
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