Tag: Marques Hagans

Crystal ball predicts Penn State will land a second WR in 2024 class

Recruiting experts are predicting another wide receiver joining Penn State’s Class of 2024 soon.

Penn State finally got their first wide receiver commit in the 2024 recruiting class on Wednesday after Philadelphia native [autotag]Tyseer Denmark[/autotag] announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions.

Twitter reactions were out in full force after [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] was able to flip the coveted prospect from Oregon to Penn State. Denmark is the first wide receiver to commit to the Nittany Lions under new wide receivers coach [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag].

247Sports’ Crystal Ball is predicting that was just the start for Penn State with wide receivers in the 2024 class.

Three recruiting analysts are predicting Penn State will land another instate wide receiver in Peter Gonzalez. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native is down to a decision between the Nittany Lions and Virginia Tech.

Gonzalez is a 6’2″ 200 pound receiver prospect who is a consensus three-star. On3’s industry rankings have him as the 157th best wide receiver in the class and the number 29 player in Pennsylvania.

After taking his official visit to Penn State on June 16th, the Nittany Lions came out of that weekend firmly in the driver’s seat to land Gonzalez.

Brian Dohn, 247Sports’ National Recruiting Analyst, has gotten all 48 of his predicitions in the 2024 class correct. Virginia Tech Insider, Evan G. Watkins, is 11 for 11 on his picks in the 2024 class. Both of these insiders have logged their predictions that Gonzalez will commit to Penn State.

After a slow start landing wide receivers, it looks like coach Franklin and his staff will now have two commitments. Both happen to be from the state of Pennsylvania as well.

Gonzalez is expected to formally announce his commitment on Friday, June 23rd at 7pm Eastern Time.

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Penn State prepares for monster official visits this weekend

Penn State is gearing up for another massive weekend of recruiting visits

June has been a busy month for schools across the nation. It’s the first time that members in the class of 2024 are able to take their official visits to football programs they are interested in attending.

It’s been an especially busy time for Penn State as they try to solidify and add to their top 10 recruiting class. The first weekend in June resulted in multiple commitments from players high on their target list. The second weekend was full of players who had already verbally committed with some officially enrolling in school.

This weekend will be different.

Eight players are taking their official visits to State College and none of them are committed to Penn State or any other school.

It’s also a big weekend for new defensive line coach, [autotag]Deion Barnes[/autotag]. Only one defensive lineman has committed out of the 2024 recruiting class so far after [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag] announced his commitment on June 4th.

That could change in a major way this weekend. Three out of the eight prospects visiting are defensive lineman. Two are four-star prospects and one is a three-star.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Penn State favored to land 6’5″ 240 pound Benedict Umeh and 6’3″ 255 pound DeAndre Cook. Umeh is a four-star prospect and Cook is a three-star.

T.A. Cunningham was a late addition to this official visit weekend. He’s a 6’6″ 275-pound prospect from Georgia who plays his high school football in Miami, Florida. The Miami Hurricanes are the major favorites to land Cunningham according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, meaning Penn State will have a lot of work to do this weekend.

Wide receiver is another position that needs some work in the 2024 class. There are currently zero commitments for new receivers coach [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag]. However, three-star wide receiver Peter Gonzalez is taking his official visit.

Penn State is ba ig favorite to land Gonzalez according to On3 with an 88.3% chance. Gonzalez is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native who is 6’2″ and 200 pounds. He has a visit scheduled with Virginia Tech the weekend after he comes to State College.

Overall, six out of the eight players visiting this weekend are four-star players. On3 doesn’t have Penn State very likely to land the majority of the players who are visiting this weekend.

Official visits are a way to turn the tide so this could be the biggest weekend during the month of June in order to bolster the 2024 recruiting class.

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Penn State in Top 12 for four-star receiver in 2024

Penn State cracks top 12 for four-star receiver in 2024

The 2024 class is starting to take shape for Penn State. They just secured a commitment from a three-start tight end on Saturday, bringing their total number up to five.

It seems like Penn State is still a bit behind schedule compared to where their other highly rated classes have been, but there is still time to secure recruits heading into the summer and fall.

What’s noticeably lacking from the 2024 class are the skill position players. New wide receiver coach [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag] has been hitting the recruiting trail hard trying to secure some high level receivers.

On Tuesday, four-star wide receiver [autotag]Amari Jefferson[/autotag] included Penn State in his top 12 schools. Jefferson is a 6’1″ 190 pound prospect from Tennessee. On3 has him rated as the 263rd player in the country and the 43rd wide receiver overall.

Besides Penn State, the other schools on his list are Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, Colorado, Oregon, Miami, Florida State, South Carolina and Georgia State.

One interesting thing about Jefferson is that he already committed to Tennessee to play baseball for them. He made this commitment after his ninth grade year and was waiting for a football offer from the Vols as well.

The baseball wrinkle could push Tennessee as the major favorites to land him since he’s expressed interest in potentially playing both sports in college.

However, On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Alabama as the favorites to land the four-star recruit with a 39.8% chance. Georgia is second with 21.2% and Tennessee is third with 12.3%.

Penn State was given a less than 1% chance, although the machine was not updated since Jefferson cut his list to the top 12 schools.

When speaking with On3’s Hayes Fawcett about Penn State, he said, “I like what Coach Franklin does on offense. I felt I could play there early and get the ball to show my ability.. I have an excellent relationship with Coach Hagans as well.”

It will be interesting to see how Jefferson wants to navigate the commitment he made to Tennessee’s baseball program and if playing both sports is a package deal for him at any school.

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Former Penn State football assistant lands at Air Force

One of James Franklin’s former assistant coaches is taking a job with a service academy

After Penn State and [autotag]Taylor Stubblefield[/autotag] parted ways back in January, his job as wide receivers coach was filled quickly. Two months later, the former Penn State assistant has now found his new home with a new coaching job.

Stubblefield is heading to Air Force for the exact position of Wide Receivers coach, according to The Athletic.

This will be his second stint at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs where he previously coached alongside their head coach Troy Calhoun. He had been there for the 2017 and 2018 seasons before heading to Miami (FL) and landing at Penn State.

Stubblefield left under murky circumstances back in January. At the time, [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] would only comment stating “as you guys know, I try to share as much as I possibly can with the media that I think is appropriate. I don’t necessarily think that is appropriate in this setting.”

Stubblefield did leave with a nice statement however stating “I’m proud of the kids whose names are etched in the Penn State record books. And finally, I am elated to have been part of a team that went 11-2, culminating in a Rose Bowl victory.”

His replacement was hired just days after Stubblefield’s departure and came in the form of Virginia wide receivers coach [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag]. Since his arrival, Franklin and Penn State have landed transfer wide receivers [autotag]Dante Cephas[/autotag] and [autotag]Malik McClain[/autotag] which will further his expectations.

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Penn State defensive coach leaving for NFL job

Penn State is now searching for a new defensive assistant coach after a reported NFL departure

It looks as though Penn State head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] has a staff vacancy that needs to be filled for the 2023 season. Defensive line coach John Scott Jr. is leaving the program for a job with the NFL’s Detroit Lions. The Centre Daily Times was the first to report the news of the staff change with the Penn State program.

Franklin released a statement on his Twitter account on Monday evening to thank Scott for his assistance with the Penn State program.

I would like to thank John for everything he has contributed to our program over the past three years,” Franklin said in his released statement. “John is a great coach and also a great man. I am grateful for his friendship and the impact he has had on our student-athletes.”

“This was a great opportunity for him in the NFL and I wish him and his family nothing but the best,” Franklin added.

In addition to serving as the team’s defensive line coach, Scott was also Penn State’s run game coordinator. As a result, that is another responsibility that will have to be handed off or reassigned on the staff for the upcoming 2023 season.

This is the second staff change Penn State has made this offseason, but the first caused by a coach leaving for another job. Penn State made a switch with its wide receiver coach position by bringing in [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag] to replace [autotag]Taylor Stubblefield[/autotag].

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Penn State in top four for four-star receiver in 2024

Key four-star wide receiver target in 2024 for Penn State updates his top schools list

As Penn State continues to build the early foundation of its Class of 2024, the Nittany Lions begin the week knowing they are firmly in the hunt for a four-star receiver out of Virginia. [autotag]Keylen Adams[/autotag], of Virginia Beach, Virginia, released his top four schools on Sunday as he moves forward in his recruiting process. Penn State was among the top four schools in the mix.

Adams unveiled his top four schools with a post on his Instagram account. In addition to Penn State, his final four consisted of Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and Virginia Tech.

Adams updated his list of top schools to 12 candidates in mid-December. The eight schools being cut from his list included South Carolina, Florida State, North Carolina, Miami, East Carolina, Duke, Ole Miss, and Michigan State.

Adams is a consensus four-star recruit in the Class of 2024 with a four-star rating from 247Sports, On3, Rivals, and ESPN. 247Sports ranks Adams as the no. 1 recruit in the state of Virginia, which has been a key state for Penn State’s recruiting strategy. Penn State also has hired a new wide receivers coach in [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag], who will also serve as the program’s offensive recruiting coordinator. It would be safe to assume Hagans, who spent the past 11 seasons working on the Virginia coaching staff, will be hard at work on recruiting Adams to the Penn State Class of 2024.

The recruiting prediction machine from On3 gives Penn State a 20.2% chance of landing the commitment from Adams. Virginia Tech is the calculated favorite right now with a 30.5% chance of receiving his commitment.

Adams was among the visitors to Penn State’s campus for a Junior Day in mid-January. He also made an unofficial visit to Penn State last October. Penn State offered Adams in late August 2022.

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Notable wide receivers coached by Marques Hagans

New Penn State receivers coach Marques Hagans certainly had an impact on receivers at Virginia.

Penn State has found their new wide receivers coach and he comes from Charlottesville, Virginia in the form of [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag]. He has been coaching since 2011 after his NFL career ended. Hagans spent his entire coaching career with Virginia, until now.

Hagans hasn’t coached many NFL talents but he has coached 10 of the top 15 receivers in Virginia Football history. Some notable ones will be listed below and while they aren’t the most widely recognized names, they are big for that program.

Virginia saw a bit of a renaissance becoming more pass-happy in recent years and without Hagans developing receivers that may not have happened. At Penn State he will look to continue what is turning into a strong program component which is the wide receiver talent, he should do just fine in that department if his past is any indicator.

Penn State announces hiring of Marques Hagans as wide receivers coach

Penn State’s search for a new wide receivers coach is over.

Penn State’s search for a new wide receivers coach has come to an official end. Penn State announced the hiring of [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag] on Monday. In addition to filling the role of wide receivers coach, Hagans will also assume the title of offensive recruiting coordinator.

Hagans comes to Penn State after spending the last 11 seasons at his alma mater, Virginia. The former Virginia wide receiver played in the NFL for five seasons with stops with the St. Louis Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, Indianapolis Colts, and Washington Redskins before starting up his coaching career back at Virginia in 2011.

“We are excited to add Marques to our family,” Penn State head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] said in a released statement. “He is a veteran coach, whose experiences playing both quarterback and wide receiver at the highest levels will bring tremendous value to our program. Marques has a proven track record of developing receivers throughout his career and has worked alongside many coaches I respect. Marques is a relationship-based leader, whose family values align with the culture of Penn State.”

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be led by James Franklin and work with his tremendous coaching staff,” Hagans said in his released statement. “I am excited to be part of the tradition of Penn State Football, to uphold the standard of excellence and to work relentlessly to compete for championships.”

Hagans fills the role on the staff most recently held by Taylor Stubblefield. Stubblefield was removed as the program’s receivers coach last week in a somewhat surprising staff change. Hagans will have the responsibility of getting more consistent productions out of the receivers unit that will include the return of [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] following his terrific Rose Bowl performance and transfers Dante Cephas and Malik McClain. It will also be up to Hagans to inject some momentum in the recruiting strategy of offensive players, particularly at the receiver position.

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