Tag: Marques Hagans

Where does Penn State stand with 2025 recruit Lex Cyrus?

This talented receiver from PA committed elsewhere, but Penn State is still hoping to keep him close to home.

Penn State was looking to make an impression on some of their top flip targets in the class of 2025 with some time remaining before early signing day on Dec. 4. But without a home game until Nov. 2, that put them in a tough situation regarding the recruiting calendar.

Fortunately, four high-profile flip targets were able to make it to Happy Valley last weekend for their game against UCLA, giving the program another opportunity to make a late move to boost their 2025 class.

One player they thought would for sure already be committed to them is [autotag]Lex Cyrus[/autotag], the four-star in-state wide receiver from Harrisburg who had long been a priority of [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag].

However, he shocked everyone when he committed to South Carolina on July 11, leaving many people in the fanbase to be frustrated again regarding how the position was being recruited.

But, with time still remaining before he officially signs elsewhere, Penn State is not going to give up on this recruitment, and when he was back on campus this past weekend, Sean Fitz of BlueWhiteIllustrated detailed the full-court press they put on him (subscription required).

According to the insider, the staff “rolled out the red carpet” for Cyrus and his 11 teammates who attended the UCLA game.

The speedy wide receiver continued to get better and better throughout his high school career, applying his elite track speed onto the field and flying up recruiting boards where he became considered the sixth-ranked player in Pennsylvania and the No. 29 wide receiver in the class per On3’s Industry Ranking.

There was a major push within Cyrus’s internal camp for him to become a Nittany Lion, so when he committed elsewhere it was a disappointing development.

The tides could be turning on that front, though, according to Fitz, as there are a few things working in Penn State’s favor.

One is that South Carolina has added more wide receivers to their 2025 class, bringing their total up to five. While that might not be a huge deciding factor in his decision since Penn State would also have five if Cyrus flips, it also signals he might no longer be a priority in the Gamecocks’ eyes like he was previously.

The Nittany Lions have continued to recruit him hard, maintaining a good relationship with him and his family that could ultimately allow them to break through in this process.

Fitz noted that “things seem to be trending up” regarding Penn State getting him on board following his recent visit to Happy Valley last weekend, so this will continue to be a process to monitor.

Penn State gets massive commitment from 2025 four-star offensive lineman

Penn State picked up another big commitment this week, this time beefing up the offensive line.

Not only did Penn State get their season started with a bang when dominating West Virginia on the road to silence some of the critics, they were able to utilize that performance to help themselves on the recruiting trail.

Almost immediately after the game on Saturday finished, the Nittany Lions got some great news when wide receiver [autotag]Matthew Outten[/autotag] flipped his commitment from Virginia Tech to Penn State.

Whether it was the offense looking much better that made him think he could envision himself playing in this program or not, landing the productive high school wide out is important for [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag] in the 2025 cycle.

However, that wasn’t the only big news on the recruiting trail coming out of Week 1.

Longtime offensive lineman recruit [autotag]Malachi Goodman[/autotag] has made up his mind.

https://twitter.com/Hayesfawcett3/status/1830999979948941393

This is a massive recruiting win for [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and his staff as they were able to land the third-highest ranked player in the state of New Jersey, beating out the likes of Auburn, USC, Alabama and Georgia who he also took official visits to earlier in the summer.

“The biggest factor was development. The main reasons I committed to Penn State are the coaching staff, how I feel about the offensive line group and I like Coach [Phil Trautwein] a lot,” he said per Ryan Snyder of On3.

At 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, he is considered to have a high ceiling based on his young age that allows plenty of room to grow once he starts working with the staff at Penn State.

Rated as a four-star recruit in the class of 2025, he comes in at No. 130 in the cycle according to On3’s Industry Ranking which now makes him the highest-rated player in the Nittany Lions’ class.

Penn State shocked as top WR target Lex Cyrus picks South Carolina

Penn State missed out oe its top wide receiver target in the Class of 2025.

There have been a lot of great moments for Penn State in its 2025 recruiting cycle, and there have been a lot of frustrating moments for the program, coaching staff and fanbase.

The most recent decision from one of their top remaining targets in this cycle certainly isn’t going to make anyone happy.

[autotag]Lex Cyrus[/autotag], the top in-state wide receiver and the Nittany Lions’ most coveted remaining target at that position shocked everyone and decided to commit to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

This might have been bubbling under the surface for a while despite all the confidence that Penn State people had that they would get this one done. After taking his official visits to Happy Valley and then South Carolina, it took a long time for him to make up his mind.

Now, it’s clear his decision wasn’t as simple as expected.

“Really, I would say probably Coach [Mike] Furrey. He was definitely a major impact on this decision. Talking to him and the conversations I’ve had with him, he showed me that he’s probably the best coach that can develop me as a man and football player the next three to four years,” Cyrus told Ryan Snyder of BlueWhiteIllustrated.

That quote won’t do much to quiet the crowd who is not a fan of current wide receivers coach [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag]. This was supposed to be a recruiting cycle where he showed his prowess, and so far, that has not happened.

Only two wideouts are committed to Penn State in the 2025 class after there was a clear need for them to obtain talent and bodies. Losing out on Cyrus is a massive blow for [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and this program.

There’s still a chance that he can decommit and come to the Nittany Lions, but based on his comments, it sounds like that is unlikely.

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Penn State receives crystal ball pick for 2025 four-star wide receiver

Recruiting expert predicts major wide receiver commitment for Penn State coming soon.

Penn State is looking to put the final touches on their 2025 recruiting class that has seen them have plenty of ups and downs, but still will likely finish towards the top of national rankings.

Throughout the offseason, much of the conversation and attention has been spent on the wide receiver position. Following a disappointing showing last year, there is much to be desired heading into this season, and with a miniature exodus by some young players, the need to land a top group of receivers during this cycle was prevalent.

[autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag] was under a lot of pressure to deliver, and it looked like he might not be able to with only one commitment for an extended period of time and others at the top of their board deciding to play elsewhere.

But, Penn State landed four-star [autotag]Jeff Exinor[/autotag] and seem to be inching closer to landing top in-state wide receiver [autotag]Lex Cyrus[/autotag] this week.

Now, it could only be a matter of time before they add another four-star in Taz Williams Jr. following Tyler Calvaruso of 247Sports putting in a Crystal Ball pick for the Nittany Lions.

So far, the Lions247 Staff writer is 11 out of 14 on his picks in this class, good for just under 79 percent. However, his all-time percentage is at 90.75, getting 255 out of 281 picks correct.

If Calvaruso is correct, that would be Penn State’s third four-star wide receiver commitment.

Williams is playing high school football in the state of Texas, but he’s originally a Pittsburgh native. The local ties are apparently working in the favor of the Nittany Lions and could get them home in this process. He said his official visit “went great” and better than he expected. He reconnected with some of the players he grew up with in Pittsburgh and loves the family atmosphere that the program has (subscription required).

To do so, they’ll have to beat out Michigan, SMU and Texas A&M.

Williams has set his commitment date for July 13.

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Penn State lands another four-star edge rusher in Jayden Woods

Penn State adds another four-star commitment from edge rusher Jayden Woods.

This time on the calendar suggested there would be a lot of decisions coming for top players across the country about where they’re going to play college football, and Penn State was hoping they would land many of their top targets.

A lot of eyes were on two coaches in particular as [autotag]Deion Barnes[/autotag] and [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag] really had their first full recruiting cycle this offseason.

For a while, both had only landed one commit when [autotag]Lyrick Samuel[/autotag] jumped on board in the receiver room, however, since then, Barnes has been on an incredible run that continues to get better.

Not only did he get his first one in Cortez Harris, but he followed that up with a huge victory to land Max Granville, poaching him from the state of Texas to beat out Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

As if that wasn’t good enough, the Nittany Lions have landed another four-star edge rusher in [autotag]Jayden Woods[/autotag].

The 6-foot-3, 235-pounder is a consensus four-star in the class of 2025 and is ranked 23rd at his position and 201st overall by On3’s Industry Ranking.

This was another recruitment that was seen as something potentially hard to get home as Woods is a Kansas native and was heavily being pursued by Kansas State and Tennessee.

They were able to get him on campus twice in 2024, including an official visit that took place on the weekend of June 7.

The edge rusher talked about developing a good relationship with Barnes and the interesting connection his family has with [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag], as he recruited Woods’s father to Kansas State back when Franklin was coaching there.

He is now the 19th commit for Penn State in the class of 2025 as they continue to put together a group that could finish towards the top of national rankings with their continued pursuit of other top targets on their board.

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Class of 2025 wide receiver Taz Williams impressed by Penn State on recent visit

Penn State football’s family atmosphere impressed a key wide receiver recruit on his recent visit to campus.

It’s no secret that, while Penn State fans are wanting this coaching staff to land elite talent across every position, all eyes are on what recruits wide receivers coach [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag] can pull in.

Based on the overall targets the second-year Nittany Lions coach is pursuing, he is clearly swinging for the fences in attempting to land some of the premier talents across the country.

With just one receiver commitment currently in the class, there is still plenty of work to be done for Hagans and [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] to overhaul their wideout room.

The good news is plenty of their top targets are still available, and they seem to be leading for two of them.

One player they would love to land is [autotag]Taz Williams[/autotag], who is playing high school football in the state of Texas.

Ranked as a four-star in 247Sports’ Composite Rankings, the Pittsburgh native is an explosive playmaker with the ball in his hands at 6-foot and 185 pounds.

This process won’t be an easy one to win for Penn State, but they put themselves in a fantastic spot coming out of his official visit this past weekend.

Williams spoke with Mike Roach of 247Sports about his experience coming out of that trip and he seemed very impressed by what took place. He said “it went better than I expected” calling attention to the family atmosphere within the program and the plan they laid out for him to play early and become an impact player. He enjoyed his time hanging out with the current players and loves Franklin and the staff he’s put together (subscription required).

Even though he’s originally from Pittsburgh, that’s not necessarily giving the Nittany Lions a leg up.

His recruitment has gone national, getting courted by SMU, Ohio State, and Texas A&M who he’s all previously visited, and Michigan, who he’s visiting this weekend.

According to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, they have the Wolverines as a heavy favorite to land him at 67.5 percent, but based on the feedback coming out of his trip to Happy Valley, Penn State has put themselves in a good spot to potentially win this one.

Williams will announce his decision on July 13 following the conclusion of all his official visits as that gives him and his family time to discuss everything before making his commitment.

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Crystal Ball picks sees Penn State land coveted wide receiver target

Penn State could be the favorite to add this wide receiver in the Class of 2025.

The Penn State Nittany Lions are desperately attempting to land some of their top wide receiver targets in the class of 2025.

With only one commit in [autotag]Lyrick Samuel[/autotag], this official visit portion of the calendar is going to go a long way in determining if they are able to accomplish their goals of securing some of their priority recruits.

All eyes are on what Top 50 ranked prospect [autotag]Quincy Porter[/autotag] will decide to do as he is [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag]’ and Penn State’s No. 1 guy, but that is going to be a tough recruitment to win with Michigan and Ohio State also high on his list.

The Nittany Lions are looking to land multiple future playmakers and are also extremely high on [autotag]Jeff Exinor[/autotag] out of McDonogh School in the state of Maryland.

Ranked as a four-star recruit, the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder has been linked to Penn State throughout his process.

Coming off his official visit to Happy Valley this past weekend, it seems like the Nittany Lions could be on the verge of landing their second wide receiver in the class.

Brian Dohn of 247Sports has logged a Crystal Ball pick for Penn State to secure a commitment from Exinor.

The wide receiver told people that the Nittany Lions are the leader coming out of the visit and he’s looking to move up his trip to Maryland instead of waiting to see their program later in June. Dohn said that the relationships with the coaching staff and how the offense could use him under new offensive coordinator [autotag]Andy Kotelnicki[/autotag] is appealing. Plus, he has relationships with past McDonough players who are now within the program (subscription required).

All of that points to Penn State landing one of their top targets and someone they believe can turn into a potential star for them.

It will be interesting to see what develops in the coming weeks, or even days, but it looks like this one could be close to wrapped up for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State’s top wide receiver target shares thoughts after official visit

Penn State’s top wide receiver target in 2025 has positive feedback about recent visit.

There were tons of players in Happy Valley this past weekend to visit Penn State in an official fashion. With so many top targets on their board coming to see the program, it’s hard to really narrow down who the Nittany Lions prioritized with work still left to be done across multiple positions.

However, it’s been known that four-star wide receiver [autotag]Quincy Porter[/autotag] is their top wide receiver target as he sits as the No. 49 player in the 2025 class by 247Sports’ Composite Rankings and the eighth-best at his position.

Simply put, this is the biggest target for [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag] and one that would make a statement if the Nittany Lions are able to land the New Jersey prospect.

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, there’s a thought that he can impact any program in the country immediately, something Penn State has leaned into during their recruitment of him.

Getting him on campus was already a majors step as the Nittany Lions are battling it out with Ohio State and Michigan, both programs he will take official visits to later in June.

It was unknown what his true level of interest in Penn State was, but all reports indicate he is truly considering them as an option.

His comments coming out of this trip seem to suggest that, as well.

Porter spoke with Brian Dohn of 247Sports about his official visit and it sounds like the Nittany Lions made a strong impression. He considers them “up there” based on the relationships he’s developed with the coaching staff and said hanging with the players and coaches were highlights of the weekend. He was also able to get a better gauge of how he would be utilized in the offense, calling his fit “good.” He continued to highlight his positive view of the coaching staff (subscription required).

Winning this recruitment will not be easy.

Ohio State is known for landing top players at this position, and Michigan coming off a national championship will be tough to compete against.

However, this is another positive step in his recruitment after getting him on campus, and hopefully, Penn State was able to do enough early where they can still be in the running after his trips elsewhere.

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Penn State’s top instate WR target down to two schools after visit

Penn State could be about to add another big wide receiver to its Class of 2025.

Penn State is looking to bolster its 2025 recruiting class as it currently sits with 13 commitments in early June.

All cycles are different, but compared to how their class looked at this point last year, this one certainly leaves [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and his staff with a lot of work remaining to ensure they land one of the premier groups in the country once again.

Because of how things worked out for the Nittany Lions’ wide receivers in 2023, a lot of attention has been given to this group and coach [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag]’ ability to land some of the top targets on their board.

With [autotag]Lyrick Samuel[/autotag] being the only wide receiver commit so far, there are nervous fans as Penn State entered the official visit portion of the calendar that they might not be able to field a strong class.

Their top instate target [autotag]Lex Cyrus[/autotag] was on campus this past weekend in what set up to be a huge visit.

The 5-foot-10 speedster has been at the top of their board for a long time, sitting as a four-star recruit and ranked No. 109 in the class and the 17th-best at his position according to On3.

For a while, Cyrus has been seen as someone who will commit to the Nittany Lions, but with Texas A&M, South Carolina, and Miami lurking, this process is still not done.

However, Brian Dohn of 247Sports says that Penn State could be getting closer to landing wide receiver coming out of this weekend as he told him it’s down to the Nittany Lions and South Carolina. It was his sixth trip to Happy Valley so this was to gain more comfort with the program. He left with a better understanding of how they will look to utilize him and told Dohn he “enjoyed the visit” (subscription required).

This is huge for Penn State as his only other scheduled official visit is to South Carolina this upcoming weekend.

Depending on how things go with that trip, the Nittany Lions could land their second wide receiver in the 2025 class soon.

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Elite 2025 wide receiver taking official visit to Penn State this weekend

Penn State is gearing up to host a major wide receiver recruiting target this weekend.

What dominated headlines as soon as the Penn State season ended last year was what they were going to do at wide receiver after that unit was subject to tons of criticism following their poor play.

Transfer additions who could immediately be impact players for the upcoming season were all that anyone wanted to talk about, but it turned out the only thing that happened were departures through the portal.

Recruiting then became the next thing of focus as only one player has committed to the Nittany Lions in the class of 2025.

To say fans are concerned would be putting it lightly, but there is still time to fill out their class heading into the all-important official visits.

With many of their desired targets still on the board, perhaps there is no one who fits the profile of the type of receiver that the Nittany Lions and their fans want more than [autotag]Quincy Porter[/autotag].

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound New Jersey native is an elite prospect, ranked as a consensus four-star recruit and the 44th-best player in the country by On3’s Industry Rankings.

Landing him would be a major win for wide receivers coach [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag].

The first step in doing so is getting him on campus for an official visit, something they were able to secure for this upcoming weekend.

It’s going to be a major battle for Penn State to land Porter.

Back in mid-May, they made his top six schools list with the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Texas A&M joining them.

Right now, it feels like a four-horse race as the elite wide receiver has locked in his four official visits for the month of June, visiting the Nittany Lions first, followed by Ohio State, Michigan, and Oklahoma.

Penn State is in the mix according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, which gives them the second-best odds of landing Porter at 19.3%. They trail only Michigan which has been given a 26.4% chance.

This is a huge recruitment for the Nittany Lions and one they hope they can win.

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