Penn State’s tight end depth is looking pretty solid. Where true freshman Joey Schlaffer fits into the picture 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.
Continuing this series is a look at one of Penn State’s newest additions to the program, Class of 2023 tight end [autotag]Joey Schlaffer[/autotag]. One of the top players from Pennsylvania is staying close to home and has a promising future ahead of him in Happy Valley at a position that has served Penn State well over the years. But what kind of role will Schlaffer take on as a true freshman? Here’s a snapshot look at his 2023 profile.
Who will be the wide receivers and tight ends to watch in Penn State spring football practices this year?
As Penn State gets ready to embark on the 2023 season, the offense will be expected to be the big storyline this fall. With a new starting quarterback taking the spotlight, it should not go without mentioning that the wide receiver position will be instrumental to Penn State’s success this season. And with its top two wide receivers and leading tight end from last season departing the program for the NFL, there is more to figure out on offense than whether or not its new quarterback is ready to take flight.
Penn State loses Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley at wide receiver and Brenton Strange at tight end. Together, that accounts for 1,550 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns to replace in the passing offense from a year ago. Fortunately, Penn State has some players ready to step up and make up for the lost production, including some young players that will continue to develop this spring.
Here is a look at what Penn State has to offer at wide receiver and tight end this spring when spring football practices open on March 14.
Keandre Lambert-Smith
Michael Hickey/Getty Images
Measurables: 6’1″, 184 lb
Year: Junior
Expected role: Starting wide receiver
KeAndre Lambert-Smith is Penn State’s top returning wide receiver from a season ago. Following the departures of Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley, Lambert-Smith has the most Penn State experience at the position, and he should remain a fixture in the offense for new starting quarterback Drew Allar to rely on stretching the field.
[autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag]
Harrison Wallace III
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Measurables: 6’1″, 196 lb
Year: Redshirt sophomore
Expected role: Possible starting wide receiver, solid contributor
Competing for a possible starting job could be Harrison Wallace III, who had 19 catches for 273 yards and a touchdown last season as a reserve option. Wallace finished sixth on the team in receiving yards in 2022 and is the third-leading receiver coming back from last year’s roster, although a pair of transfer additions to the roster means Wallace will look to make a statement this spring for consideration for an increased role in the fall.
The Penn State football Class of 2023 commitment tracker has been updated with the latest recruiting development
The Class of 2022 was great for Penn State, but it’s already time to turn the page toward the Class of 2023. And James Franklin and the Nittany Lions already had a few commitments on the board for the Class of 2023 as the signed letters of intent were coming in for the Class of 2022.
We’ll be keeping track of every commitment that goes on the board for Penn State in the Class of 2023. But knowing that odds are pretty good at least one player will have a change of heart somewhere along the recruiting process, we’ll keep tabs on what they are doing up until signing day.
This tracker will be updated accordingly when needed. It was last updated on February 1, 2023.
One key member of the Penn State Class of 2023 just saw his stock skyrocket.
With the traditional national signing day approaching quickly, On3 has provided its final update to its player rankings for the Class of 2023. And as a result, it turned out to be a big update for Penn State commit [autotag]Andrew Rappleyea[/autotag].
Rappleyea was among the biggest movers up in the On300 ranking, moving from no. 82 in the last update all the way up to no. 41 in the final player rankings from the recruiting service. He is now the second highest-ranked player in Penn State’s Class of 2023 behind offensive lineman [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag]. He passed another offensive lineman, [autotag]Alex Birchmeier[/autotag], in moving up as high as he did.
Penn State ended up having a number of players ranked in the final On300 rankings, and there could still be room for another. Offensive tackle [autotag]Chimdy Onoh[/autotag], from Maryland, is ranked no. 210 in the nation on the rankings from On3, and he is believed to be considering Penn State as his commitment announcement approaches.
Other Penn State commits in the On300 rankings include:
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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.
Here’s a check-in on some of the senior seasons of the 2023 Penn State football class.
Penn State is back home this week to take on the Minnesota Gophers. On top of that, [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and the rest of the coaching staff have been keeping the recruiting train alive throughout the season.
We have spent every other week throughout the college football season checking in on the recruits of what we have from the 2023 class thus far.
We have also discussed some key Penn State targets, some that the Nittany Lions have shown interest in. We have also taken a deeper look into the 2024 class of high school football recruits.
This week, we are back to checking in on some of the key 2023 Penn State football recruits. There have been a few that we have mentioned more than once. Tight end [autotag]Joey Schlaffer[/autotag] is one of them. Schlaffer has had himself an impressive senior season thus far.
Let’s go ahead and check in again on some of the key Penn State football 2023 recruits. How have they been performing in their senior seasons before they head to State College?
This week, let’s check back in with some key 2023 recruits and how their senior seasons have been thus far.
Penn State is coming off a blowout win against Auburn. Not only that, but the Nittany Lions have had quite a few talented players on their radar for future recruiting classes.
We know all about the current Penn State roster and we took a thorough look at the 2022 recruits over the summer. But, what about the future Nittany Lions?
Last week, we took a look at some key recruits who have Penn State on their radar. There were some that even had them narrowed down into a final 10 to 12 teams. But there were others that were pretty far out in their recruiting process but still definitely worth keeping an eye on.
It’s worth noting that running back [autotag]London Montgomery[/autotag] is sitting out for the season due to a season-ending injury. Montgomery was a big get for Penn State’s recruiting class in 2023.
This week, let’s check back in with some key 2023 recruits and how their senior seasons have been thus far.
Penn State’s tight-end success continues with Joey Schlaffer in the Class of 2023.
Penn State has a track record of producing NFL tight-ends as of late, and that is why [autotag]Joey Schlaffer[/autotag] decided to commit to Penn State this year. Schlaffer had a front-row seat to what [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and his staff has done in recent years and thus he decided he wanted to be a Nittany Lion.
Coming out of Reading, Pennsylvania, Schlaffer has a good frame and athletic playstyle that you like to see from the new breed of tight end. He will have to compete with other tight-end recruits and upper classmen when he arrives on campus but he has shown he has no issue competing. Being a multi-sport athlete has shown he loves to compete and can do so in a multifaceted way.
For [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag], he loves getting these types of players when they are still pieces of moldable clay and Joey Schlaffer is one hundred percent that for him.
Running down the top football recruits in Pennsylvania in the Class of 2023
Penn State head coach James Franklin made a bold statement when he was first named head coach of the Nittany Lions. Franklin proclaimed Penn State was going to “dominate the state” in recruiting. Backing up that philosophy in his first full recruiting cycle as head coach of the Nittany Lions, Penn State signed six of the top 10 players in the state of Pennsylvania, including Saquon Barkley and John Reid. The following year saw Penn State sign the state’s top two players, Miles Sanders and Michael Menet, as well as another top 10 recruit in Connor McGovern.
While Franklin has done well to extend Penn Stae’s recruiting efforts beyond the state of Pennsylvania, there is always some pride in knowing that some of the best homegrown talent chooses to ultimately play at Penn State. Penn State continued to make that the case in the Class of 2022 with the additions of six of the top 10 players in the state, headlined by Gatorade National Football Player of the Year Nicholas Singleton.
The book is not quite officially closed on the Class of 2022 with the traditional signing period still ahead in February, but efforts for the Class of 2023 are already underway, so you may want to get an idea of who some of the top players in the state of Pennsylvania are in the Class of 2023. Using the 247Sports composite rankings as our guide, here are the top 18 Class of 2023 recruits from the state of Pennsylvania (247Sports only ranks the top 18 players in Pennsylvania at the time this was published)
