Tag: t.a. cunningham

Penn State trending for two 4-star prospects with commitment dates set

Penn State is trending in a positive direction for a pair of four-star recruiting targets.

With 22 players currently committed to Penn State in the class of 2024, [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and his staff are now able to focus their attention on their top remaining uncommitted prospects they are still recruiting.

Two of those prospects have their commitment dates set with Penn State looking to be the leader in the clubhouse for both of them.

[autotag]Liam Andrews[/autotag] is a four-star offensive lineman from Massachusetts who recently cut his list of schools down to three and announced his commitment date.

[autotag]T.A. Cunningham[/autotag] is a major defensive line prospect from Florida. The four-star put out his top five list with his commitment date coming up as well.

Penn State fans won’t have to wait long to know if the Nittany Lions were able to land these targets. Andrews is expected to announce on July 21st and Cunningham one day later on July 22nd.

As of right now, it looks like Penn State is going to land both of these coveted prospects.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives the Nittany Lions a huge 93.4% chance to secure a commitment from Andrews. 247Sports’ Crystal Ball is also projecting the offensive lineman will land in State College. Lions247 Staff Writer, Tyler Calvaruso and Director of Football Recruiting, Steve Wiltfong, both predict Penn State lands the four-star.

Cunningham’s outlook is in a similar spot. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Penn State with a 91.2% chance to land Cunningham. 247Sports’ Crystal Ball also predicts he’ll commit to the Nittany Lions. Calvaruso and Wiltfong again have predicted Penn State will secure the four-star defensive lineman.

Securing these commitments would be a major boost to the recruiting class that Franklin and his staff have put together.

Andrews is a 6’5″ 275 pound prospect who is rated as the 85th best player in the country and third best offensive lineman in 2024 according to On3’s industry rankings.

On3’s industry rankings have the 6’6″ 275 pound Cunningham as the 257th overall player in 2024 and the 28th best defensive line prospect.

Penn State currently sits at seventh in the national recruiting rankings according to 247Sports.

Follow Brad Wakai on Twitter and TikTok

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=12]

Penn State making ‘biggest push’ for 4-star DT T.A. Cunningham

He has a top five list, but Penn State is making the biggest push for his commitment.

Recruiting high school football talent is always a battle that continues all year, but the competition for interior defensive linemen in the class of 2024 is particularly fierce right now. A prospect to watch who will soon be making a decision is Miami Central (Fla.) four-star defensive lineman T.A. Cunningham.

So far, Cunningham has received a stunning 62 college offers. According to Adam Gorney at Rivals he has a top-five list, but Penn State is making the biggest push for his commitment.

“Settled now at Miami (Fla.) Central after a tumultuous recruitment and high school experience, Cunningham now has a top five of Penn State, Oklahoma, Miami, Texas A&M and Michigan but one program is “definitely recruiting me the hardest out of anyone,” he said. The Nittany Lions are making the biggest push for Cunningham, who is originally from Georgia, transferred to a school in California and is now in Miami. A decision could be coming soon, too.”

On3’s prediction model agrees that the Nittany Lions are the team to beat in Cunningham’s recruitment. They’re a dominant favorite at 84.5%, while the second-best odds belong to Georgia at just 2.1%.

Both On3 and 247Sports have Cunningham ranked No. 28 at his position. ESPN (No. 16) and Rivals (No. 12) have him considerably higher, though. Nationally, ESPN has him at No. 116 overall.

Cunningham reportedly plans to make his college commitment public this Saturday, July 22.

More football stories

Alabama rises to No. 5 nationally with another 4-star commitment

Georgia has ‘made a surge’ in recruiting 5-star LB Justin Williams

Is 2024 4-star DL T.A. Cunningham trending toward Texas A&M?

Through subtle social media hints, 2024 4-star DL T.A. Cunningham has indicated that Texas A&M is more than in play for his commitment.

Texas A&M’s 2024 recruiting class is flirting with a Top 5 team ranking when all is said and done, most recently adding 4-star wide receiver Ernest Campbell on Saturday afternoon, becoming the 18th prospect in the class.

Last Friday, 2024, four-star defensive lineman T.A Cunningham released his final program list ahead of his commitment scheduled for Saturday, July 22, which includes Penn State, Oklahoma, Miami, Michigan, and Texas A&M. According to 247Sports “Crystal Ball,” The Nittany Lions are currently the leaders for Cunningham, but as we’ve seen with several members of A&M’s 2024 class, take these predictions with a grain of salt.

This weekend, the rising defensive prospect dropped numerous clues via Twitter regarding where his mind might be during the final stages of his recruiting journey, and by the looks of it, the Aggies’ recruiting momentum may have caught the attention of Cunningham, who went on to post multiple Aggie related post including one dawning a Maroon and White jersey and a simple “thumbs up” emoji.

Take that as you will, as Cunningham has yet to take an official visit to College Station, while his last unofficial visit occurred last October. However, the Aggies have beaten the recruiting prediction odds; with offensive tackle Weston Davis (predicted to land with LSU) and safety Myles Davis (predicted to land with Texas), anything is possible, especially with a whole week remaining before his commitment.

From his limited tape, Cunningham has lined up as a 3-4 defensive end and a standing 4-3 outside linebacker while consistently showing a blend of high motor athleticism and the ability to convert speed to power in his pass rush, so in other words, he’s as versatile as they come.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=5]

2024 4-Star DL T.A. Cunningham places Texas A&M in his Top 5 program list

Talented 2024 4-star defensive tackle T.A. Cunningham, whose commitment date is July 22, has placed the Aggies in his Top 5 list.

Texas A&M’s 2024 recruiting class is 17 players deep. Jimbo Fisher and his staff are still going strong as plenty of talent remains uncommitted. At the same time, one notable prospect out of Miami, Florida, has narrowed his final program list this week.

Four-star defensive lineman T.A. Cunningham, who, according to 247Sports, is currently positioned as the 28th-ranked defensive lineman, and the 34th-ranked player in Florida, released his Top 5 program list on Friday, which includes Penn State, Oklahoma, Miami, Michigan, and Texas A&M.

Cunningham has been on the Aggie’s radar since offering him in October 2021. Still, after two unofficial visits in 2022, Things have gone relatively quiet between both parties, but the fact that the Aggies have reached the finish line as his commitment date nears, anything is possible.

Standing at 6-5 and 270 pounds, Cunningham has been on the move for most of his high school football career, as he will play his final senior season at Miami Central High School for the 2023 season.

During his 2022 junior season at Los Alamitos (Calif), an eligibility issue disqualified him from finishing the season after five games, recording just 17 tackles. In 2021 while attending Johns Creek (Ga) High School, Cunningham performed at his best, recording 66 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, and seven sacks on the year.

From his limited tape, Cunningham has lined up as a 3-4 defensive end and a standing 4-3 outside linebacker while consistently showing a blend of high motor athleticism and the ability to convert speed to power in his pass rush, so in other words, he’s as versatile as they come.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=5]

Penn State in Top 5 of four-star Florida defensive lineman

Penn State in the top five for key four-star defensive lineman out of Florida.

Penn State is looking to continue adding to their already strong class of 2024. There are currently 22 players committed to the program and the class is ranked sixth nationally by 247Sports.

There are still uncommitted players that Penn State has high on their boards. [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and his staff are continuing to push hard on prospects who are announcing their commitments in the summer months.

One of these players is Florida defensive lineman [autotag]T.A. Cunningham[/autotag]. He has been a high priority of Penn State and first year defensive line coach [autotag]Deion Barnes[/autotag].

Cunningham is a 6’6″ 285 pound defensive lineman who is rated as a four-star prospect by the four major recruiting services. Penn State has been heavily recruiting him since 2021 when they first offered a scholarship.

On Friday, Cunningham cut his list of schools down to his top five. As expected, the Nittany Lions were included on his list. The other four schools who made it are Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

On3’s industry rankings have Cunningham listed as the 28th best defensive lineman in the class and the 36th overall player in the state of Florida.

When discussing his decision to put Penn State in his top five, he told On3’s Hayes Fawcett, “Penn State is definitely the place to become a great football player but also a better man. Coach Franklin and coach Barnes believe in me in a special type of way.”

Penn State is the only school that Cunningham has taken an official visit to during his recruitment. Whether that’s good enough for the Nittany Lions to land him is to be seen.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Miami as the big favorites to land the four-star with a 74.8% chance. Penn State sits in fourth with a 2.3% chance. However, those odds have not been updated since he cut his list of schools to five.

There are currently three defensive lineman committed to the Penn State in the class of 2024.

Cunningham will announce his decision on July 22nd.

Follow Brad Wakai on Twitter and TikTok

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=12]

Michigan football makes top 5 for 2023 4-star DL

Interesting, but not expecting much here. #GoBlue

There was a point in the not-so-distant past when Michigan football was trending for the two defensive tackles it coveted most. Weeks later, now the Wolverines are 0-for-2 in procuring two 2024 playmakers.

Pennsylvania-based three-star Deyvid Palepale was poised to stay closer to home, but looked likely to spurn in-state Penn State. Michigan was the presumed favorite, but then USC surged and received his commitment, leaving the maize and blue in the dust. That wasn’t nearly as shocking as the case of five-star Justin Scott, who appeared to be favoring the Wolverines over Notre Dame and Miami — the two other primary contenders for his services in most analysts’ eyes — before he ended up surprisingly committing to Ohio State.

Now the defensive line board is a big question mark this recruiting cycle, but Michigan did end up making the top five for a player who hasn’t visited Ann Arbor in over a year. Originally from Alpharetta, Georgia, 2024 Miami (Fla.) Central four-star defensive tackle T.A. Cunningham has revealed his top five, and the Wolverines made the cut along with Penn State, Miami, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M. He’s expected to make his commitment on Saturday, July 22.

Michigan appears to be playing from far behind here, however. He has one 247Sports Crystal Ball indicating he’ll end up in Happy Valley, while he has three similar predictions on Rivals.

While it doesn’t appear that he’s likely to end up in Ann Arbor, the fact that Michigan made the cut is encouraging, and perhaps there’s more of a push behind the scenes that could make something of a difference for him.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal title=”An offer for Wolverines fans” description=”For the best local Detroit news, sports, entertainment and culture coverage, subscribe to the Detroit Free Press.” url=”https://cm.freep.com/channeloffer?gps-source=CPSMGMIDARTICLE&utm_source=smg&utm_medium=inline&utm_content=wolverineswire&utm_campaign=smgtolocal&offer=W-SF&barBuild=atoms-pid” button_text=”$1 for 3 months”]

Tweet by Class of 2024 four-star DL has Penn State buzzing

Let’s read way too much into this tweet by a Penn State recruiting target in the Class of 2024

According to the recruiting analysts out there, it would seem that it will be quite an uphill road for Penn State to break into the mix for four-star defensive lineman T.A. Cunningham. But the Miami native drew some attention to himself on Saturday evening with a potentially cryptic tweet of him in a Penn State uniform.

On Saturday night, Cunningham posted an image of him holding up a finger to his mouth as if to shush his doubters. The image of him in a Penn State uniform making this gesture with the “#WeAre” hashtag will undoubtedly be interpreted in many ways, and it could also mean absolutely nothing. But the timing of it does seem interesting.

On Saturday, Penn State added a quarterback commitment for its Class of 2024, which is the same class Cunningham is in. Also on Saturday, Penn State extended an offer to Cunningham’s teammate at Miami Central, four-star linebacker Ezekiel Marcelin (Marcelin is in the Class of 2025). Within two hours of Marcelin announcing his Penn State offer, Cunningham took to Twitter to share his image and post.

Cunningham visited Penn State in March and went through the standard recruiting visit photo shoot in a Penn State uniform, and this image is likely from that visit in March. Could this be a sign that Penn State is emerging on the recruiting trail for Cunningham? If so, that would be a major development.

Cunningham is largely expected to be a heavy lean for the Miami Hurricanes, and he would certainly be a great addition for the Hurricanes, who have seen some revived life in recruiting under Mario Cristobal. If Penn State manages to win Cunningham over Miami, that would be another major recruiting victory for James Franklin and defensive coordinator Manny Diaz.

If nothing else, Cunningham has our attention and we will eagerly be waiting for his next update.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=12]

Miami Central getting 3 big transfers from California

Three high school football players from California are transferring to Florida powerhouse Miami Central.

Three high school players from Southern California are moving cross-country and transferring to Miami Central, a Florida powerhouse school that finished the 2022-23 season No. 4 in our final football Super 25.

According to a report by Rivals recruiting analyst Frank Tucker, the three players are Los Alamitos defensive end T.A. Cunningham, his younger brother, and teammate, defensive end T.K. Cunningham, plus Santa Margarita Catholic quarterback Bekkem Kritza.

Kritza (6-foot-4, 180 pounds) is a four-star quarterback who is ranked No. 9 at his position and No. 16 overall in California. He’s in the class of 2025. Kritza has offers from Colorado, Colorado State, Kansas, Miami, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Texas A&M.

T.A. Cunningham (6-foot-5, 265 pounds) has a four-star rating and is ranked No. 13 among defensive linemen in the class of 2024. He’s one of the most highly-recruited players in the country, with offers from 61 schools. According to On3’s prediction model, Miami is the favorite to get his commitment at 76.1%.

His younger brother T.K. Cunningham (6-foot-5, 230 pounds) is in the class of 2027 and is as yet unranked. However, he already has offers from 19 different programs, including Arizona, Cal, Colorado, Michigan and USC.

That’s three serious new pieces for the Rockets, who went 14-0 last season, including a win over American Heritage for their fourth consecutive state championship.

More football stories

10 of the greatest running backs in Texas HS football history

Landen Thomas flip to FSU drops Georgia from No. 1 spot

Recruiting update: Multiple future recruits will attend Ole Miss game this weekend

Eight 2023, 2024, and 2024 recruits will attend the Aggies’ primetime matchup with the 15th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday

The Aggies are gearing up for their primetime matchup with the 15th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday night in what should be a packed Kyle Field as the team hasn’t played in front of the 12th man in 42 days, one of their longest stretches in the program’s history.

Since the start of one of the busiest news weeks for the Aggies season, ranging from player suspensions to season-ending injuries, one of the stories that fell under the radar came to light later in the week, as eight 2023, 2024, and 2024 recruits will visit College Station this weekend, and attend the Ole Miss game set to kick off at 6:30 PM CT. on the SEC Network.

The eight players who will be attending the game are listed as current Texas A&M commit, 2023 defensive tackle David Hicks Jr., 2023 Texas commit Malk Muhammad, 2023 Edge Tomarrian Parker, 2023 Michigan State commit, running back Kedrick Reescano, 2024 quarterback DJ Lagway, 2024 defensive tackle T.A. Cunningham, 2024 linebacker Payton Pierce, and 2025 quarterback Bekkem Kritza.

Yes, Texas A&M is 3-4 and 1-3 in the SEC, but this is one of the most important weekends not only for a team looking to win their first game in nearly a month, but for a staff that needs to impress the eight highly touted recruits in attendance enough for them to really consider the Aggies late in the recruiting process. Gig ’em, and BTHO Ole Miss.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty

[listicle id=6621]

[listicle id=6592]

5-star USC target is ready to go for Los Alamitos after agonizing delay

T.A. Cunningham, the subject of a major report in The Athletic earlier in September, will finally get to play high school football in the state of California.

Class of 2024 USC target T.A. Cunningham is one of the top junior recruits in California and the nation.

Cunningham moved to California from Georgia in the summer, but he waited weeks to have his transfer approved by the Southern Section. Four games into the season, his high school, Los Alamitos, was informed that Cunningham was deemed ineligible.

The five-star recruit has yet to play a down in California, but that’s about to change. The CIF Southern Section took action on Monday and cleared his transfer from Johns Creek (Georgia) to Los Alamitos (California). This was a moment and a decision many people had waited for, Cunningham most of all. After having to deal with the wrenching scenario of watching his teammates play and not being able to help them on the field in a helmet and pads, Cunningham will finally be able to get in the game. Physically fresh and rested, Cunningham is in position to make a very significant impact on the season for Los Alamitos.

T.A. Cunningham had 66 tackles (22 for loss) and seven sacks as a sophomore last season playing for Johns Creek (Georgia).

The USC target is a 6-6, 275-pound defensive lineman who is ranked 19th nationally and is the No. 1 overall recruit at his projected position, defensive end.

Cunningham will play alongside two top USC commits, Malachi Nelson and Makai Lemon, who are expected to be USC Trojans in December.

[mm-video type=video id=01gdgjrs19kr2nj8va4j playlist_id=none player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gdgjrs19kr2nj8va4j/01gdgjrs19kr2nj8va4j-7c192a5f4bb7cbc6bb10c2a869899e1e.jpg]

[listicle id=49121]