Tag: Jven Williams

Penn State football recruiting snapshot: Three-star athlete Caleb Brewer

Snapshot recruiting profile of one of Penn State’s Class of 2024 commits, Caleb Brewer.

Penn State outbeat many suitors, including Big Ten rivals Michigan for Reading, PA native [autotag]Caleb Brewer[/autotag]. Brewer, a former wrestler, gave his pledge to the Nittany Lions right after the 2023 Blue-White Game.

Brewer is listed as an athlete on most recruiting websites but projects as an offensive lineman who can play on the defensive side if necessary. Brewer, a Wyomissing High School alum, follows his former teammate [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag] to Penn State after Williams was the top-rated player in Pennsylvania a year ago. Williams and Brewer will now team up again and perhaps have a chance to show off their chemistry on the same line.

Here’s a snapshot of Penn State commit Caleb Brewer.

Penn State’s streak of landing Pennsylvania’s No. 1 player ends

Penn State loses out on a commitment from the top-rated in-state recruit to a major Big Ten rival.

Since [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] took over the head coaching job at Penn State in 2014, his goal on the recruiting trail has been to dominate the state of Pennsylvania.

One of the most coveted recruiting pipelines in the entire country, getting the best players to stay home and play for the Nittany Lions has been one of his biggest priorities.

He was able to accomplish that in 2015 when signing Saquon Barkley, who was the No. 1 ranked player in the state. Franklin has continued this dominance, signing Pennsylvania’s best player, during eight of his 11 recruiting cycles according to 247Sports’ rankings.

Moving into the class of 2025, the Nittany Lions had gone three straight years signing the state’s No. 1 player after getting [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] in 2022, [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag] in 2023 and [autotag]Quinton Martin[/autotag] most recently in 2024.

But, unfortunately this streak has seemingly come to an end after 2025 edge rusher, Zahir Mathis, committed to Ohio State on Wednesday.

The 6’5″ 230 pound four-star prospect from Philadelphia is the No. 55 overall player in the class and the best in Pennsylvania according to On3’s industry rankings.

While it’s disappointing to have this streak come to an end, the most notable thing about Mathis’ recruitment before making his commitment was that Penn State did not make his final list of schools.

Before deciding on Ohio State, he was between them, Florida State, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Much of Mathis’ decision came down to his connection between himself and Ohio State’s defensive line coach, Larry Johnson, stating that was a major factor throughout his recruitment.

So, Penn State will need to turn their attention to other top prospects in the state with the sixth rated player, Anthony Sacca, being on their list of targets.

Penn State in Top 12 of 4-star 2025 edge rusher

Pen State makes latest top schools cut for four-star edge rusher in 2025

Penn State is starting to get to work on their class of 2025 recruiting. With their 2024 class almost wrapped up, they’ll start to shift more of their focus and resources to the younger class.

Three players have already committed to the Nittany Lions in the class of 2025, which is great start. They’ll have to maintain contact and relationships with those prospects as they’ll most likely continue to go through recruitment until they can officially sign.

[autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and his staff have their sights set on one of the most important targets in the class of 2025.

[autotag]Zahir Mathis[/autotag] is a consensus four-star edge rusher from Philadelphia who is rated as the number one player in the state by the four major recruiting services.

He cut his list of schools down to his top 12 on Monday with Penn State making the list. Other programs included were Michigan, Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama, LSU, USC, Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida State, Florida and Texas A&M.

Everyone knows how much emphasis Franklin puts on keeping the best Pennsylvania players home and playing for Penn State.

He has gotten the number one player in the state to commit to the program three years in a row. [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] started the streak in 2022, followed by [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag] in 2023 and [autotag]Quinton Martin[/autotag] in 2024.

On3’s industry rankings have the 6’5″ 230 pound edge rusher as the number eight player at his position and the number 60 overall prospect in the country.

Penn State was the first school to offer Mathis back in May 2021. Since then, he’s visited the campus twice in unofficial capacity. His most recent visit came in mid-April of this year. He spent the month of June visiting multiple schools who made his list.

Right now, On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Penn State in the lead to land Mathis with a 28.7% chance. Ohio State sits second at 13.1% and South Carolina third at 11.3%.

This is a great start in an important recruitment effort that will definitely see a lot of effort and resources put in to secure the top rated player in the state four years in a row.

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2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 70 J’ven Williams

Taking a look at five-star Penn State freshman O-lineman J’ven Williams ahead of the 2023 season.

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 [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] this season.

Continuing this effort is looking at one of the best offensive lineman recruits the Nittany Lions have signed in some time. [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag] was a five-star high school recruit from Pennsylvania. He is projected to be a big time player in the future and someone who could play in the NFL. Here is a snapshot look at Williams ahead of the 2023 season.

Penn State expected to land commitment from four-star OL this week

Penn State is projected to be the favorite to land this massive four-star offensive lineman recruit this week.

After making a trip to Penn State over the weekend to check out the Blue-White Game festivities, Wisconsin offensive lineman [autotag]Donovan Harbour[/autotag] announced he will make his commitment known this week. Given the timing of it all, Penn State appears to be in terrific shape to add another massive offensive lineman to its Class of 2024 recruiting haul.

Harbour is a 6′-3″ 310-pound offensive tackle and a consensus four-star recruit in the Class of 2024 with four-star rankings from 247Sports, On3, Rivals, and ESPN. He is a consensus top-three player from Wisconsin with the top ranking in the state from 247Sports and ESPN. Needless to say, adding a four-star offensive tackle like this from Wisconsin, where the Wisconsin Badgers develop offensive linemen with the best of them, would be a major recruiting victory for James Franklin and Penn State.

Wisconsin is going through coaching change with the program with former Cincinnati head coach (and former Ohio State assistant and interim head coach) Luke Fickell injecting new life into the program. Securing Harbour to stay close to home may have been one of the top objectives for the new regime in Madison, but Penn State has emerged as the favorite on the eve of his commitment announcement.

Harbour announced on his Twitter account he will be announcing his commitment on Tuesday, April 18 (his birthday).

There is just one prediction on the 247Sports crystal ball board, but it favors Penn State after a prediction was cast following the Blue-White Game. The prediction comes from Tyler Calvaruso, who covers Penn State recruiting for Lion247 on the 247Sports network of sites. That prediction was made less than 12 hours after Harbour announced he would be sharing his commitment decision, which was posted to his Twitter account just hours after the Blue-White Game.

The On3 recruiting prediction machine has also calculated Penn State to have a 90.9% chance of receiving Harbour’s commitment. The next closest on the board is Wisconsin with a 2.3% chance of a commitment, followed by Ohio State at 2.0%. That percentage is also heavily influenced by the timing of Harbour’s announcement and visit to Penn State’s spring game as well as the only official prediction on the board coming from another Penn State recruiting insider, Ryan Snyder of Blue White Illustrated.

Penn State’s Class of 2024 kicked off with a commitment from four-star offensive lineman [autotag]Cooper Cousins[/autotag] and recently added two-way lineman [autotag]Caleb Brewer[/autotag], a three-star recruit. Both are in-state recruits for Penn State. The possible addition of Harbour would be a nice piece to add to the class, especially following the Class of 2023 class that was highlighted by the additions of [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Birchmeier[/autotag].

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Penn State gains commitment after Blue-White Game

Penn State added a key in-state recruit in 2024 hours after the Blue-White Game came to a close.

Penn State knew its spring game weekend was going to be a big recruiting opportunity for the program, and it paid off with a commitment in the Class of 2024 in the hours after the conclusion of the Blue-White Game. [autotag]Caleb Brewer[/autotag], an offensive lineman who can play on the defensive side as well, gave his commitment to the Nittany Lions on Saturday evening.

Brewer announced his commitment to Penn State on Twitter, giving Penn State’s recruiting class another quality addition on the line of scrimmage. Brewer, a 6′-4″ and 275-pound three-star recruit out of Wyomissing, follows his former teammate [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag] to Happy Valley after Williams committed to the program in the Class of 2023 as the top-rated player in Pennsylvania.

Brewer is the no. 8 player in Pennsylvania in the Class of 2024 according to 247Sports. He committed to Penn State after recent visits to Michigan and Notre Dame, just to name a couple.

Penn State extended an offer to Brewer back in January when he attended a junior day event.

Penn State’s Class of 2024 now has nine players lined up. Brewer is is the fifth player in the recruiting class from Pennsylvania.

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Penn State Class of 2024 recruiting profile: Four-star athlete Quinton Martin

Snapshot recruiting profile of Penn State’s latest four-star commit, Quinton Martin.

Penn State lured in one of its biggest commitments in the Class of 2024 a week before the 2023 Blue-White Game when it secured the verbal commitment of the top player in the state of Pennsylvania. Penn State’s latest effort to keep PA’s best in PA led to the commitment of four-star athlete [autotag]Quinton Martin[/autotag], who is likely to be used as a running back but has experience at multiple defensive positions as well.

The addition of Martin gives Penn State yet another top player in Pennsylvania, following in the footsteps of past top players in the state like offensive lineman [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag] and running back [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag]. Martin is close friends with another key recruit in Penn State’s Class of 2024, linebacker Anthony Speca.

Here is a snapshot look at the recruiting profile of Martin, a truly prized recruit in Penn State’s Class of 2024.

Penn State’s Class of 2023 recognized for offensive line strength

247Sports says Penn State’s offensive line effort paid off in the Class of 2023

Penn State made a concentrated effort to beef things up on the offensive line in the Class of 2023. After locking down commitments from three four-star linemen in the early signing period, the Nittany Lions capped the recruiting class with one more four-star player for the offensive line on the traditional national signing day this week with the addition of Chimdy Onoh. As the recruiting classes around the country settle as it looks like Penn State’s class is now complete barring any potential transfer portal adjustments moving forward, the effort made with the offensive line is being recognized in the recruiting roundup summaries.

247Sports took a look at a number of the recruiting classes that best improved their school’s rosters, with the idea that not every recruiting class needed to attack the same positions in order to improve the roster. For instance, Penn State got the help it needed at some skill positions in the Class of 2022 with players like running backs [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] and [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] and quarterback [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag], so the focus on those positions in 2023 was not nearly as pressing. Instead, Penn State worked on the offensive line that will allow those players to continue to shine in 2023 and beyond.

Penn State’s offensive line was the key area of improvement highlighted by 247Sports, and it is understandable why. With [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag] deciding to return next season, along with [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag] and [autotag]Caedan Wallace[/autotag], the Nittany Lions have the look of a solid offensive line going into the 2023 season, but the Class of 2023 will help keep things stabilized for big offensive line play after the 2023 season.

Here’s what 247Sports had to say about Penn State’s offensive line focus in the Class of 2023;

Penn State solidified its future along the offensive line with four bluechip signees, including two interior players and two offensive tackles. The Nittany Lions grabbed two of the top six tackles, with Alex Birchmeier (6-5, 285) leading the pack as the nation’s No. 2 player at the position. Fast riser Chimdy Onoh, a four-star tackle, picked Penn State over Michigan State on National Signing Day, providing yet another boost to an impressive class. Onoh’s meteoric rise through the 247Sports rankings in December was somewhat surprising. He went from an Old Dominion commitment in mid-December to garnering multiple Power Five offers in a matter of days as a four-star prospect. Most of the attention he generated was from the Big Ten and SEC. He entered National Signing Day as the nation’s No. 13 offensive tackle prospect.

The 247Sports summary goes on to highlight the idea that the new additions to the offensive line will not feel the pressure of being thrown into the mix right away. The returning linemen for Penn State will allow the Class of 2023 signees to take some time to develop and being fully prepared for their roles on the line, but knowing that any one of them could step in early if needed is a luxury as well.

Penn State signed the top-rated player in Pennsylvania with [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag] at offensive tackle, the top-rated player in Virginia with [autotag]Alex Birchmeier[/autotag], and another top 10 player from Virginia with [autotag]Anthony Donkoh[/autotag] in the early signing period. Onoh joined the class this week on the traditional signing day.

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Penn State Class of 2023 signee gets big bump in final On3 player rankings

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:

  • OL J’ven Williams (no. 9)
  • OL Alex Birchmeier (no. 74)
  • LB [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag] (no. 86)
  • S [autotag]King Mack[/autotag] (no. 113)
  • DE [autotag]Jameial Lyons[/autotag] (no. 155)
  • TE [autotag]Joey Schlaffer[/autotag] (no. 158)
  • LB [autotag]Kaveion Keys[/autotag] (no. 171)
  • CB [autotag]Elliot Washington[/autotag] (no. 194)
  • CB [autotag]Zion Tracy[/autotag] (no. 200)
  • OL [autotag]Anthony Donkoh[/autotag] (no. 216)

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Start time for 2023 Blue-White Game announced

Penn State has announced the start time for this year’s Blue-White spring game.

We already knew what day the Penn State Blue-White Game was going to be played. Now we know the scheduled start time.

On Tuesday, Penn State announced the official start time for this year’s spring game, the highlight of the weekend in State College. Penn State’s annual Blue-White Game will begin at 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 15.

It is unconfirmed at this point in time if the game will be available for viewing on the Big Ten Network or any other network, but that information will be made available at a later time.

Penn State will head into the 2023 Blue-White Game with a rising sense of optimism surrounding the team after an 11-2 season with a victory in the Rose Bowl to cap things off. Penn State finished at no. 7 in both the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25, and the Nittany Lions are a trendy top 10 pick already in the various way-too-early top 25 projections for next season.

Penn State will return some key pieces on defense with the returns of [autotag]Adisa Isaac[/autotag] and [autotag]Curtis Jacobs[/autotag] to go with the rising stardom of players like [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag] and [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag]. The offense will continue to build confidence in the running game with [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] and [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] leading the way behind an offensive line that will return [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag] and introduce some new stars in the Class of 2023 with [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Birchmeier[/autotag]. And, of course, this spring will see [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] step into the leading role at quarterback as the successor to Sean Clifford, who leaves Penn State after rewriting the school’s record book for the past six years.

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