Tag: Vaboue Toure

Biggest theme of Penn State’s 2024 class: balance

Penn State’s 2024 class offers one of the more balanced recruiting hauls in the country.

With the first and busiest day of the college football early signing period behind us, we can confirm that Penn State signed all 25 of its Class of 2024 commits earlier today. It was a “drama-free” signing day according to [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] who spoke after all the commits had signed. The class is now locked in for next year so let’s break it down.

Penn State returns a boatload of starting-caliber players from last season but will lose several starters to the NFL with more expected to announce in the coming month. Penn State has never been a heavy transfer portal school and relies mainly on keeping its returning players intact while reloading with a strong freshman class.

This years’ class is ranked 14th in the country by 247Sports Composite and 16th by On3. With 12 offensive commits and 13 defensive commits this year’s group is evenly balanced eluding to the fact that Franklin and his staff want to add quality depth around the board and fill in any neccessary holes from departing players.

From a positon standpoint is was more of the same type of balance across the board:

  • 7 skill players: QB [autotag]Ethan Grunkemeyer[/autotag], running backs [autotag]Quintin Martin[/autotag] and [autotag]Corey Smith[/autotag], wide recievers [autotag]Josiah Brown[/autotag], [autotag]Tyseer Denmark[/autotag], and [autotag]Peter Gonzalez[/autotag], tight end [autotag]Luke Reynolds[/autotag]
  • 5 offensive lineman: [autotag]Eagan Boyer[/autotag], [autotag]Caleb Brewer[/autotag], [autotag]Cooper Cousins[/autotag], [autotag]Donovan Harbour[/autotag], [autotag]Garrett Sexton[/autotag]
  • 6 defensive lineman: [autotag]Liam Andrews[/autotag], [autotag]DeAndre Cook[/autotag], [autotag]T.A. Cunningham[/autotag], [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag], [autotag]Jaylen Harvey[/autotag], and [autotag]Mylachi Williams[/autotag]
  • 5 secondary players: cornerbacks Antoine Belgrave-Shorter, Kenneth Woseley, Jon Mitchell, and safties Dejuan Lane, and Vaboue Toure
  • 2 linebackers: Kari Jackson and Anthony Specca

No one position or side of the ball dominated the 2024 recruiting cycle for Penn State, but thats a good thing because it shows that Penn State has talent everywhere. Three wide recievers were added to arguably the worst room in 2023 and a playmaking running back was added to a room featuring two former 5-star recruits. The trenches were reloaded with talent and many of the offensive line commits should challenge for starting spots in their first year.

In the time of the transfer portal and NIL perhaps a early signing day like the one Penn State had today is not exciting, but it does not matter Franklin’s method of “underpromise, overdeliver” method still produces wins. It has in the past. Penn State’s 2024 class is balanced, solid, and most importantly adds talent across the board which is key for sustained success.

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Which Class of 2024 players will enroll early at Penn State?

It looks like a good percentage of Penn State’s Class of 2024 will be on campus in January to get a jump with offseason workouts.

Now that Penn State has officially signed its Class of 2024 on the first day of the early signing period, or at least all of the commitments they had lined up, the page is quickly turning forward. Not to look past the upcoming Peach Bowl against Ole Miss later this month, but winter workouts and spring football will be here before you know it! And it seems a good percentage of Penn State’s Class of 2024 is expected to be on campus and ready to get started working with their new teammates and coaches.

Here are the players in Penn State’s Class of 2024 that are reportedly expected to enroll early in January and get started with the program:

  • DL [autotag]Liam Andrews[/autotag]
  • DB [autotag]Antoine Belgrave-Shorter[/autotag]
  • OL [autotag]Eagan Boyer[/autotag]
  • WR [autotag]Josiah Brown[/autotag]
  • DL [autotag]De’Andre Cook[/autotag]
  • OL [autotag]Cooper Cousins[/autotag]
  • DL [autotag]T.A. Cunningham[/autotag]
  • DL [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag]
  • QB [autotag]Ethan Grunkemeyer[/autotag]
  • DL [autotag]Jaylen Harvey[/autotag]
  • LB [autotag]Kari Jackson[/autotag]
  • RB [autotag]Quinton Martin[/autotag]
  • DB [autotag]Jon Mitchell[/autotag]
  • TE [autotag]Luke Reynolds[/autotag]
  • OL [autotag]Garrett Sexton[/autotag]
  • DB [autotag]Vaboue Toure[/autotag]

Every other member of Penn State’s Class of 2024 will join the program in the summer.

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Early Signing Day Tracker: Say hello to Penn State’s Class of 2024

The early signing period for college football is officially open as schools around the country are locking in their entire, if not the vast majority, of their recruiting classes for the Class of 2024. Penn State will be among the schools expecting …

The early signing period for college football is officially open as schools around the country are locking in their entire, if not the vast majority, of their recruiting classes for the Class of 2024. Penn State will be among the schools expecting to receive signed National Letters of Intent from their verbal commitments to make things official. There could always be a player or two who hold off until the traditional signing period in February for one reason or another, but Penn State is hoping for a pretty simple and straightforward opening to the early signing period.

Here is a look at each player who committed to Penn State in the Class of 2024 recruiting calendar and an update on which players have signed in the early signing period.

Updated On3 recruiting rankings gives big boost to Penn State commits

Penn State’s Class of 2024 gets a boost form updated On300 player rankings from On3.

Penn State’s Class of 2024 lineup of commitments continues to impress in the national rankings with a consensus top 10 class being put together. But on Monday, a number of Penn State commitments saw a nice boost to their individual recruiting ranking from On3, with three players moving up into the top 100 in the nation.

Offensive lineman Garrett Sexton moved up nearly 70 spots in the 2024 recruiting rankings by going from no. 112 overall in the nation up to no. 44. The newest member of the Class of 2024 lineup, defensive lineman Mylachi Williams, cruised all the way up to no. 79 from no. 205. And tight end Luke Reynolds saw a massive surge by jumping all the way up to no. 81 after not being ranked in the On300 rankings previously.

Other notable risers in the On300 rankings from On3 included quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer (no. 176), offensive lineman Cooper Cousins (no. 215), and defensive back Dejuan Lane (no. 274). All three players were previously out of the On300.

Penn State has a few other players in the Class of 2024 On300, of course. Quinton Martin (no. 109), Vaboue Toure (no. 206), and Jon Mitchell (no. 155), Josiah Brown (no. 297) are among the commits ranked inside the On300.

The updated recruiting rankings also gave Penn State a boost on the On3 team rankings for the Class of 2024. The updated rankings boosted Penn State from no. 10 in the On3 class rankings up to no. 8.

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Penn State in final two for of 4-star receiver in 2024

Penn State and Texas A&M battling for four-star wide receiver in 2024.

It’s been a long process for Penn State throughout the recruitment of four-star wide receiver [autotag]Jaylan Hornsby[/autotag]. He has been one of the top targets in the class of 2024, especially with zero wide receivers committed at the moment.

Penn Sate got its first commitment from a New Jersey prospect on Friday after [autotag]Vaboue Toure[/autotag] verbally committed to the Nittany Lions. It looks like Penn State could be headed for a second commitment from a New Jersey player after Hornsby cut his list of schools down to the final two.

Penn State and Texas A&M are the final two remaining in the recruitment of Hornsby. He has sifted through over 20 scholarship offers and 18 visits to get to this point in his process.

Hornsby is taking his official visit to Texas A&M during the weekend of June 16th. He had his official visit with Penn State the first weekend of June, along with two unofficial visits to campus throughout 2023.

Hornsby is a 6’2″ 200 pound wide receiver who is rated as the fifth best player in New Jersey. On3’s industry rankings have him as the 61st receiver and 376th overall player in the class of 2024.

Penn State has long been favored to land Hornsby as they hold a commanding lead in On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine. It gives the Nittany Lions an 82.7% chance to land the four-star prospect and Texas A&M a 3.8% chance.

However, things could change after his official visit to Texas A&M.

Hornsby currently has not decided on a date to announce his commitment, but has mentioned in the past that he could decide which school he’s picking by late June.

Follow Brad Wakai on Twitter and TikTok

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Penn State gets commitment from 4-star safety Vaboue Toure

Penn State is heading into the weekend with a four-star commitment to get things started.

Penn State got a bit of bad news on Thursday when their fifth offensive lineman in the class of 2024 decommitted after saying he might have rushed into the decision. [autotag]Deryc Plazz[/autotag]’s decommitment was a bump in the road for the fantastic recruiting period [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] has done with this class.

However, the program got back to good news on Friday when they picked up a commitment from [autotag]Vaboue Toure[/autotag].

Toure was long rumored to be headed to Penn State but made it official Friday through his Twitter account. Toure is a four-star safety from New Jersey. He’s ranked as the 257th best player in the country and number 21 safety prospect according to On3’s industry rankings.

This is an important signing for Franklin and his staff when it comes to recruiting pipelines. There hasn’t been a New Jersey prospect sign with the program since 2020. New Jersey is an important pipeline because of the talented prospects located within the state.

Penn State has been recruiting Toure for a while. They first offered him a scholarship in March of 2022 and have hosted him for four visits, including the official visit during the weekend of June 9th.

Originally, Toure had plans to take official visits to Kentucky and Oklahoma, but decided to verbally commit to the Nittany Lions. He is the second safety that has committed to Penn State in the class of 2024 along with fellow four-star, [autotag]Dejuan Lane[/autotag].

The 2024 recruiting cycle has been successful so far. There are currently 17 players committed with more seemingly coming. This has the Nittany Lions in the Top 15 nationally by both On3 and 247Sports.

Penn State’s recruiting class is ranked 12th by On3 and ranked seventh by 247Sports.

Follow Brad Wakai on Twitter and TikTok

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Crystal Ball predicts Penn State will land another 2024 safety

Crystal ball prediction favors Penn State for four-star safety in 2024.

It was a monster weekend for Penn State. They secured three commitments on Sunday after hosting prospects for official visits. Penn State got their fifth offensive lineman in the class of 2024 and added two players on defense.

Now, 247Sports’ Crystal Ball is predicting that the Nittany Lions will land another defensive prospect from the 2024 class.

[autotag]Vaboue Toure[/autotag] is a four-star prospect from New Jersey who is starting to be heavily linked to Penn State. He visited the campus three times for unofficial visits and has an official visit scheduled for June 9th, 2023.

Brian Dohn is a National Recruiting Analyst for 247Sports. He gave his Crystal Ball prediction on June 2nd that Toure would commit to Penn State. This is a big deal because Dohn is 28 for 28 on his predictions for the 2024 class.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine also has Penn State has the heavy favorites to land the safety prospect from Irvington. Currently, they give the Nittany Lions a 84.3% chance to secure a commitment from Toure.

As seen from the tweet above, On3 also had Penn State as the favorites to land [autotag]Dejuan Lane[/autotag]. He committed to Penn State on Sunday and was the first safety commitment in the class of 2024. Similarly, 247Sports and their Crystal Ball also had Penn State landing Lane prior to his official visit over the weekend.

All of this bodes well for the Nittany Lions when it comes to the recruitment of Toure.

As it stands now, Penn State will be the first school that Toure officially visits when he heads to State College on June 9th. He also has two more official visits on his calendar when he heads to Kentucky on June 13th and Oklahoma on June 16th.

We’ll see if the Crystal Ball stays hot when Toure officially announces his decision on where he will play his college football.

Follow Brad Wakai on Twitter and TikTok

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Recruiting Profile: 2024 4-Star Safety Vaboue Toure

Taking a look at recent offer out of New Jersey, 4-Star safety Vaboue Toure.

Just as they’ve opened up new recruiting grounds in the southeast under Brent Venables, the Oklahoma Sooners have been active in the New Jersey area in the last year as well. 2023 signee [autotag]Logan Howland[/autotag] comes out of the Hunn School, and the Sooners have targeted another New Jersey prospect in 2024, Vaboue Toure.

Recent four-star safety offer [autotag]Vaboue Toure[/autotag] plays fast and physical at the point of attack. Whether he’s playing around the line of scrimmage or deep, Toure uses really nice pursuit angles to attack downhill. He’s a physical tackler.

In coverage, Toure displays good awareness and an ability to play the football in the air. He breaks to the football in the same way he does in the running game; fast and physical.

He’s a playmaking defensive back that has offers from notable Power Five programs like Alabama, Michigan State, and Ohio State. Expect that offer list to continue to grow as he Toure finishes out his high school career.

Vaboue Toure’s Recruiting Profile

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Ohio State Football: Quick recruiting recap from this past weekend

It looks like they had a great time

The Buckeyes weren’t just busy on the field this weekend, they are active on the recruiting trail as well. Even though The Game didn’t go Ohio State’s way, it didn’t mean that the weekend was a complete bust. Ryan Day and his staff were active with plenty of recruits who were in Columbus and some that weren’t. Check out some of the action from over the weekend below.