Tag: King Mack

Penn State transfer DB King Mack expected to visit Alabama this weekend

Penn State transfer defensive back King Mack is expected to visit Alabama this weekend, according to On3’s Matt Zenitz.

The Alabama Crimson Tide are hosting multiple transfers for official visits this weekend. One of which includes Penn State Nittany Lions transfer safety King Mack.

Mack spent one season in Happy Valley. The native of Miami, Florida tallied three tackles for the Nittany Lions. He did appear in all 13 games, however. Coming out of high school, Mack was regarded as a consensus four-star prospect as well as a top-100 prospect.

Football runs in Mack’s family. His uncle, Keith Ferguson played football at Ohio State from 1977-1980. He is also a relative of Tremain Mack who played at Miami (FL) from 1993-1996.

Mack would help add depth and talent to Alabama’s safety room. The Crimson Tide currently have six safeties on the roster with two leaving this week in freshman Peyton Woodyard and sophomore Tony Mitchell. The addition of Mack could be very impactful in the near and distant future.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the latest regarding the Alabama football program and its involvement in the transfer portal.

Penn State safety King Mack to enter transfer portal along with three others

Former top recruit King Mack along with three other Nittany Lions enter the transfer portal

One of Penn State’s prized recruits from the Class of 2023 is entering the transfer portal. Safety [autotag]King Mack[/autotag], the no. 93 player in last year’s class, reposted a post on his Instagram account announcing his intent to transfer after it was reported earlier. Three other Nittany Lions have also entered the portal, per multiple reports.

Mack saw plenty of snaps in last month’s spring game and would have seen an increased role this fall after appearing in all 13 games last season.

In his brief one-year stint in Happy Valley, Mack compiled just three tackles in his limited snaps. After burning his redshirt last year, he will have three years of eligibility remaining.

Others to enter the portal include running back [autotag]London Montgomery[/autotag], a standout during Penn State’s Blue-White game, offensive lineman Golden Israel-Achumba, and wide receiver [autotag]Malik McClain[/autotag].

The transfer portal officially closed on May 1, but due to paperwork being processed, not all transfers were reported until after the fact. We will now wait until Penn State moves to bring in players from the portal.

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Penn State’s cornerbacks coach discusses potential contributing freshmen

Could any of these freshmen find a role in Penn State’s defense in 2024? An assistant coach offers his opinion.

Penn State had a fantastic signing day, locking up all 25 of their commits and having no drama surround their program on a day that can become filled with potential commits signing elsewhere.

On the recruiting front, the Nittany Lions’ coaching staff will turn their attention towards future classes and continue to try and build another elite class that has become the norm under [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag].

As far as the on field product goes, the next question that presents itself is which one of the incoming freshman could become impact players in their first season in the program?

Penn State had five players, all on the defensive side of the ball, forego their redshirt seasons during the 2023-24 campaign. Linebacker [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag], defensive end [autotag]Jameial Lyons[/autotag], safety [autotag]King Mack[/autotag] and corners [autotag]Zion Tracy[/autotag] and [autotag]Elliott Washington[/autotag] all contributed in limited roles.

Cornerbacks coach, Terry Smith, was asked which players in the 2024 class could follow that mold and become contributors immediately in their first year by Ryan Snyder of On3 (paid subscription required).

He immediately looked to his position group as the Nittany Lions have three players entering the NFL draft.

Smith said that [autotag]Jon Mitchell[/autotag] and [autotag]Antoine Belgrave-Shorter[/autotag] are two players to watch since they are enrolling in January and will get to work within the program as soon as possible.

He notes that it will come down to if they can make the transition from the high school level to high-major Power 5 football and adjust to the processing speed it takes to recognize what is happening during the play.

Talent-wise he thinks Mitchell and Belgrave-Shorter have the tools to be contributors, but it will come down to making that adjustment.

As far as the offensive side of the ball, he has his eye on running back, [autotag]Quentin Martin[/autotag], who is a Top-100 player.

Even in a loaded running back room with [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] and [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] coming back, Martin is an explosive playmaker and could be used in the passing game early on as he is considered the best receiver in the room already.

James Franklin announces four Penn State freshmen burning their redshirts

James Franklin confirmed which newcomers will bur their redshirt years of eligibility in 2023.

Penn State head coach James Franklin sat in front of a microphone and reporters for his first regularly scheduled press conference of the regular season on Tuesday. In previewing the season opener against West Virginia, Franklin discussed a wide range of topics without shedding much light on the starting quarterback for the Week 1 showdown with the Mountaineers. He did, however, outline the plan for a handful of some of the youngest players on the roster.

One of the most exciting topics that he talked about was the freshmen players on the team who will have the “green light” and burn their redshirt this season. It’s a term that he’s used to mainly highlight the players that are ready to make an impact immediately in their freshman year.

These are the four players Franklin announced at the presser.

  • [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag] (linebacker)
  • [autotag]Zion Tracy[/autotag] (cornerback)
  • [autotag]Elliott Washington[/autotag] II (cornerback)
  • [autotag]King Mack[/autotag] (safety)

“These guys have shown that they’re the closest, not just to play on defense, but also have significant roles on special teams,” Franklin said on Tuesday. “So, that’s where those guys have been able to get the green light, is being in what I would consider the three deep on defense, and being within the two deep on enough special teams units that it makes sense.”

Rojas has been a fast riser in the program this summer after putting on over 30 pounds of muscle since he arrived on campus. There have been murmurs that he will see time at linebacker at portions of the season that aren’t in blowout games.

Tracy and Washington will likely be confined to special team roles when not in for mop-up duty. Both were rated as four-star recruits by On3 and have flashed in the offseason training camps.

Mack is a name that kept coming up over and over again through the summer and spring. The former Top 100 recruit in the 2023 class out of Florida has been an impact player throughout camp. He could see the field at some point in a rotational role like Rojas.

Franklin also mentioned other freshmen are in the mix to burn their redshirt as well, “There’s another group of yellow guys that you hope by game five, game four, game five, somewhere around there, that they’re going to be ready to be green-lighted as well.”

Factors like on-field performance, injuries, and others will be used to determine which freshmen will be given the green light throughout the season.

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2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 9 King Mack

Penn State has great young depth in the making with King Mack at safety 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 members of the program in the Class of 2023, safety [autotag]King Mack[/autotag]. Mack joins a solid position group in 2023 and could be a player to watch a little more down the line during his college career. But the addition of Mack helps provide tremendous quality depth at the safety position to rely on moving into the fall. Here is a snapshot look at King Mack entering his true freshman season in 2023.

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’s 2023 football commitment tracker

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.

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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Penn State football recruiting profile: S King Mack

Penn State football recruiting profile: King Mack added star power at safety in Class of 2023

Penn State attached the Class of 2023 hard at the safety position, and the efforts paid off in a big way. Penn State ended up with a strong trio of safeties in the Class of 2023 with all three coming out of the south. Among those key recruits in the typical SEC territory is a standout from Florida with one of the coolest names in the recruiting class, [autotag]King Mack[/autotag].

Mack committed to Penn State over the summer and signed his letter of intent in the early signing period to make his journey to Penn State a reality. Mack has already been highlighted as a player that could be most likely to receive some early playing time in 2023 as Penn State will have a starting job to fill in 2023 with the departure of [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag]. Even if King doesn’t slide right into a starting job, fans should still anticipate hearing his name next fall as Penn State’s secondary looks to be one of the deepest in the Big Ten.

Here is a snapshot look at one of Penn State’s key additions in the Class of 2023.

King Mack mentioned as player who could play early by 247Sports

247Sports says this Class of 2023 piece could have early impact at Penn State

Penn State’s latest recruiting cycle certainly hit the mark when it came to adding quality depth across the roster. A solid follow-up to the Class of 2022, the incoming Class of 2023 is not short on quality pieces that could have an impact relatively early on for the Nittany Lions. Among those in the class highlighted as a player to watch as early as 2023 could be safety King Mack.

247Sports put together a list of 15 players across the country in the Class of 2023 that could potentially have an early impact with their new teams. Mack was the one player in Penn State’s class put in the spotlight by 247Sports in its list.

Here is what 247Sports said about one of Penn State’s next big defensive stars;

Penn State’s 2023 safety haul is absurd. The Nittany Lions landed a trio of Top247 four-star safeties from the state of Florida, headlined by King Mack. Not only is Mack the most ready-to-play prospect of the group, but he’s also the highest-upside player. Mack was a defensive and special teams terror this fall for Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas, which got 50 tackles, one interception, two punt blocks, one kick block, one defensive TD, two kick return scores and two punt return TDs. The 5-foot-11, 180 pound speedster has an outstanding track profile which contributes to the excellent athleticism he shows on the field (a 10.69 100, a 21.43 200, and a 46.25 400, which won gold in Florida’s Class 3A).

As referenced by the writeup from 247Sports, Mack is one of three safeties in Penn State’s recruiting class. He is joined by four-star DaKaari Nelson from Alabama and four-star Elliot Washington from Florida. Penn State was close to adding another safety to the mix but Conrad Hussey flipped his commitment from Penn State to Florida State in the early signing period.

Penn State will have at least one starting job open at the safety position in 2023 with [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] graduating and moving on to the NFL. Penn State’s most senior safety heading into 2023 will be [autotag]Keaton Ellis[/autotag]. Potential candidates for starting in Brown’s vacant spot include returning players such as [autotag]Jaylen Reed[/autotag] and [autotag]Zakee Wheatley[/autotag]. But Mack certainly is on the radar coming into the program.

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Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.