Tag: Mathias Barnwell

Former Penn State tight end announces entry to transfer portal

After being removed from roster, former Penn State TE declares for transfer portal.

It was just a couple of weeks ago when Penn State confirmed the departure of tight end [autotag]Mathias Barnwell[/autotag]. Now, Barnwell has confirmed he is officially entering the transfer portal, as was expected. Barnwell announced on his Twitter account on Monday evening he will be entering his name in the NCAA transfer portal database as he looks for the next step in his young college journey.

Barnwell spent one semester on Penn State’s campus after enrolling early in January with the Class of 2023. But as the summer got underway, Barnwell’s name was removed from the team’s official roster, and it was later confirmed he had left the program.

By entering the NCAA transfer portal database, Barnwell is free to communicate with any program interested in recruiting him. He will carry four years of eligibility with him after spending just one semester in college this past spring.

 

Barnwell, a four-star recruit according to the 247Sports composite rankings in the Class of 2023, committed to Penn State over offers from Ohio State, Notre Dame, Tennessee, West Virginia, Oregon, and more.

Barnwell’s recruiting process included committing to Penn State twice with a de-commitment in the middle, but he ended up enrolling early to join the program this past spring. Recruited as an athlete who could play multiple positions, Penn State head coach James Franklin mentioned Barnwell would be utilized as a tight end.

Penn State’s tight end position group still looks to be in good shape for the upcoming season despite this loss on the roster. Theo Johnson and Tyler Warren each return and figure to be the top combo at the position following the NFL departure of Brenton Strange. The Nittany Lions also have younger options on the depth chart with redshirt sophomore Khalil Dinkins, redshirt freshman Jerry Cross, and freshman Joey Schlaffer.

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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.

Where did the players who decommitted from Penn State end up?

Where did the players who decommitted from Penn State end up in the Class of 2023, and who is still out there?

Penn State just welcomed 22 new members to its football program with the signing of its Class of 2023, although there could still be some more room for another recruit or two or new pieces coming through the transfer portal. But there are some players that got away from Penn State during the recruiting process, which is perfectly normal in this game. Every school deals with a handful of players who change their minds after committing to them at some point in the process because high school students are allowed to change their minds for whatever reason they choose when it comes to where they will be going to college. Such was the case for Penn State with a number of players opting to back off a commitment to the Nittany Lions in the Class of 2023.

Fortunately for Penn State, [autotag]Mathias Barnwell[/autotag] was a rare case where he came back to committing to Penn State after decommitting.

“When he committed, wanted to make sure they were comfortable, truly knew what that was,” head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] said when reflecting on the recruiting efforts of Barnwell that ultimately led to Barnwell signing with Penn State in the Class of 2023. “His eyes started to wander in 10th grade, then committed back to us, which doesn’t always happen.”

Penn State could still end up welcoming another player or two that had previously committed to Penn State before backing off of it along the way. Quarterback [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag] and wide receiver [autotag]Ejani Shakir[/autotag] are two players still available in the recruiting pool. Each had committed to Penn State in the past before stepping back. In the case of Stokes, he flipped his commitment to Florida before having his scholarship offer pulled after a controversial video of Stokes went viral. Shakir merely wanted to take more time to weigh his options, it seems. Both players are currently projected by recruiting analysts and metrics to end up at Penn State, but time will tell how that all plays out.

Here are a few others who backed off a commitment to Penn State and where they each ended up in the early signing period.

Penn State lighting the recruiting trail on fire

After a successful Class of 2022, Penn State’s efforts in the Class of 2023 continue to show positive results.

Penn State has had top 20 recruiting classes for several years but now they seem to have really figured things out and [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] is just rolling. Penn State has been adding recruits non-stop, including flipping a top target from rival Michigan just last week. All of this is something that Penn State fans should start getting used to.

Penn State having the recruiting year it is having with them coming off one of their worst seasons under James Franklin says something even louder. Franklin has been able to see his narrative and record as a coach, not to mention his recent run of sending players to the NFL has helped matters too.

The current state of affairs in the recruiting world has Penn State sitting with the fourth overall class in the country only behind Notre Dame, Texas Tech, and Arkansas, according to the most recent update to the 247Sports composite rankings. This also makes Penn State the top-rated recruiting class in the Big Ten with five schools from the conference in the top 15 of the country.

Penn State’s Class of 2023 already has one five-star player in the 247Sports composite player rankings with offensive lineman [autotag]Alex Birchmeier[/autotag] getting the recruiting class off to a terrific start as the first commitment on the board. Three additional four-star players — offensive tackle [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag], tight end [autotag]Andrew Rappleyea[/autotag], and athlete [autotag]Mathias Barnwell[/autotag] — have helped add some more great quality depth to the recruiting efforts, and more will surely be on the way.

Franklin has talked about adding to the defensive line and the recruiting portal reflects they are spending the time on it. They have met with transfers and are also in the running for landing the nation’s top edge recruit in Anthony Hill and the top two defensive tackles in Peter Woods and James Smith. Landing all of them or just two of them would do wonders for this recruiting class and have it competing for the top spot.

Plenty of time left for summer visits and some may even show up and commit during the Spring Game, lots of time left for Franklin to continue to lay the foundation for this team for years to come.

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Notre Dame misses out on elite 2023 TE prospect

On to the next one

You win some, you lose some. That’s recruiting for you and yesterday the Irish lost one when Missouri tight end Mac Markway made his verbal pledge to SEC rising power Florida. If there is one school that has an argument against Notre Dame for Tight End U, its the Gators.

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They recently sent off Kyle Pitts to the NFL with the fourth overall selection to the Atlanta Falcons. The Gators also will welcome in LSU transfer Arik Gilbert, who was seen as the best TE prospect in his recruiting class and now the addition of Markway will just make that room stronger.

Fortunately for the Irish, Markway’s decision was made extremely early for his 2023 class, so Brian Kelly has plenty of time to recalibrate the tight end recruiting board. There are three other tight ends that have been offered in the class so far, Arizona’s Duce Robinson, Virginia’s Mathias Barnwell and Massachusetts Preston Zinter, so expect the Irish to turn up the heat on those prospects.

Michigan State Football offers 2023 tight end Mathias ‘Mega’ Barnwell

The Spartans have offered a 2023 tight end out of Virginia.

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On Tuesday, Michigan State Football offered a player with one of the best nicknames in the country. The Spartans have offered Mathias ‘Mega’ Barnwell, a 2023 tight end out of Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Mega, a 6’5″ tight end out of Riverbend High School, is currently projected to end up with Penn State. A young man of tremendous size, something the Spartans have coveted of late, Tucker will be going all in to fight off other Big Ten schools like Maryland, Penn State and Nebraska for his commitment.

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