Tag: Xavier Gilliam

Penn State player availability report for Week 1 at West Virginia

Penn State’s updated player availability reports confirms a couple of players expected to be out of action.

Penn State’s first road trip to open the season will see the roster without a number of players available. Penn State’s player availability report was released two hours before kicking off at West Virginia, and a total of 14 players have officially been ruled out of action.

Some of the names appearing on the list were not surprising to see. Linebacker Keon Wylie has previously been reported to be out of action for a significant period of time since the spring. Backup quarterback Jaxon Smolik was also banged up with an undisclosed injury during camp.

One of the notable players to miss the West Virginia game includes tight end Khalil Dinkins, who is expected to be a key alternative to star Tyler Warren at the position. James Franklin did note this week that Dinkins had been getting banged up leading up to the game, however.

The following players have been ruled out for Penn State in Week 1:

  • [autotag]Jaxon Smolik[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Khalil Dinkins[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Mylachi Williams[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Kari Jackson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Keon Wylie[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Zuriah Fisher[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Mason Robinson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Peter Gonzalez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jerry Cross[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Sam Siafa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Liam Andrews[/autotag]
  • [autotag]De’Andre Cook[/autotag]
  • [autotag]T.A. Cunningham[/autotag]

Big Ten schools are required to provide a player availability report no later than two hours prior to a scheduled kickoff. The policy was put into effect in 2023 and has seen a few conferences follow that idea in 2024.

West Virginia has not had any reported injuries this week. The Big 12 does not have the same kind of rules requiring player availability reports for its members. The SEC and MAC each enacted a similar policy beginning this season following the Big Ten’s lead.

Penn State and West Virginia kick off the season with their game at noon Eastern on Fox.

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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.

Penn State commits for 2024 set to transfer high schools for senior seasons

Two Penn State commits will be playing at new high schools for their senior seasons.

A bit of transfer news popped up on Monday that related to Penn State, but it has nothing about any players coming or going by way of the transfer portal for the Nittany Lions. Instead, the transfer news was linked to a couple of Penn State’s commits for the Class of 2024.

According to a report from Lions247, Penn State commits in the Class of 2024 Athlete [autotag]Josiah Brown[/autotag] and defensive lineman [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag] will each move to new high schools for their respective senior seasons of high school football. The transfer of Gilliam is the more interesting of the two because of what it could mean for Penn State’s pursuit of a couple of top targets still on the board for the Class of 2024 and looking ahead to the next recruiting cycle in 2025.

As noted by Lions247, Gilliam’s move from Wilde Lake in Columbia, MD to Quince Orchard in Gaithersburg, MD will place Gilliam on the same roster as edge rusher Jaylen Harvey, one of Penn State’s top remaining recruiting targets for 2024. Harvey has long been on Penn State’s radar and the four-star recruiting target has made an official and unofficial visit to Penn State since April. He has also taken an official visit to Florida, USC, Maryland, and Ohio State.

Penn State appears to be in the final running for Harvey’s commitment along with Florida, Maryland, USC, and Tennessee. Penn State was previously considered the favorite by some national recruiting experts, and the Nittany Lions could still be in a good spot to secure Harvey’s commitment when he is ready to announce his decision.

It is unknown when Harvey is thinking of making his decision public, so it will likely be up to Gilliam to keep plugging away with the personal recruiting pitches. If the two have good chemistry together this fall, maybe that could help nudge Harvey to join Penn State’s Class of 2024 lineup.

Harvey is not the only Penn State target on the radar at Gilliam’s new school. Penn State is also focusing its recruiting efforts in 2025 on running back Iverson Howard, another one of Gilliam’s new teammates this fall. Howard is a four-star recruit according to his 247Sports composite ranking information.

Brown will be moving to a school closer to his hometown by moving from Holy Trinity in Hicksville, NY to Malverne in Malverrne, NY.

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Penn State adds commitment from DL De’Andre Cook in 2024

Penn State closes out the month of June with another defensive line commitment for 2024

Penn State has made a habit of starting off a summer weekend with some recruiting buzz lately, and this weekend is no different. [autotag]De’Andre Cook[/autotag], a three-star defensive lineman from Washington D.C. got the weekend off to a good start with his commitment to the Penn State Class of 2024.

Cook’s commitment to Penn State comes a couple of weeks after an official visit to the campus in the middle of June. He committed to Penn State over offers from Boston College, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Rutgers. He was originally scheduled to announce his commitment on July 1 but decided to move up his announcement to Friday the last day of June instead.

Cook is a three-star recruit according to his 247Sports recruiting profile. He is a top-five player in Washington D.C. and a top 100 defensive lineman in the nation. The 6′-4″, 260-pound recruit out of Friendship Collegiate Academy credited his relationship with Penn State defensive line coach Deion Barnes as a significant factor in his decision.

Cook is Penn State’s second defensive lineman in the Class of 2024, a recruiting class that continues to rank in the top 10 of the country across recruiting services. He joins [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag], who joined the class at the beginning of June.

It was certainly a productive month on the recruiting trail for Penn State. The recruiting class now has 21 commitments on the board.

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Penn State in Top 5 of four-star edge rusher

Penn State sits in the top five for four-star edge rusher in 2024

Penn State continues to recruit the defensive side of the ball hard. They have locked up a formidable group of secondary prospects in their 2024 class and are now looking to build up their defensive line.

Currently, there is only one defensive lineman committed to the Nittany Lions after [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag] gave his verbal commitment in early June.

On Monday, one of Penn State’s top defensive line prospects cut his list of schools down to five.

Four-star edge rusher [autotag]Jaylen Harvey[/autotag] has been heavily recruited by Penn State since April 2022 when they offered him a scholarship. Harvey is a 6’2″ 250 pound prospect from Maryland who has visited Penn State more than any other school in the country.

The five schools on his list are Penn State, USC, Tennessee, Florida and Maryland.

Harvey is coming off an official visit to USC this past weekend and is scheduled to take an official visit to Maryland on June 23rd.

Harvey took his first official visit to Penn State on June 2nd and followed that up with an official visit to Florida on June 9th. The only school on his top five list he’s yet to lock in an official visit is with Tennessee.

On3’s industry rankings has him rated as a four-star prospect and sits as the 10th best player in Maryland and the number 23 overall edge rusher in the class of 2024.

Penn State are the massive favorites to land their edge rushing target according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine with a 92.4% chance. Maryland is second with a 2.1% chance and USC third with 1.5%.

Harvey is expected to announce his commitment on July 4th.

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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 adds 2024 4-star safety Dejuan Lane

Penn State lands commitment from four-star safety Dejuan Lane to cap big recruiting weekend

It was a monster Sunday for Penn State football’s recruiting efforts. They secured three commitments throughout the day as they continue to bolster their already potent 2024 recruiting class.

The first domino to fall was locking up their fifth offensive lineman in the class when [autotag]Deryc Plazz[/autotag] committed to the program. The big recruiting weekend continued when edge rusher [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag] announced his commitment to Penn State.

But Sunday got even better when four-star safety [autotag]Dejuan Lane[/autotag] announced his commitment on social media. Lane was projected to land at Penn State by recruiting services 247Sports and On3 after taking an official visit to State College over the weekend.

Lane is a 6’3″ 200 pound safety prospect from Baltimore, MD. On3’s industry rankings have him listed as the number 27 safety in the country and the ninth overall player in Maryland. He was the second Maryland prospect to commit to Penn State on Sunday.

Lane has previously been listed as a linebacker, which he played in high school along with some time at safety. He’s seen by many scouts and coaches as a “tweener,” or a player who is in-between two positions but can play both. However, Penn State primarily sees him as a safety when he comes to State College.

As far as why he committed to Penn State, Lane said it was a perfect fit.

He told Ryan Snyder of On3’s BlueWhiteIllustrated, “I committed because I know this is home. Immediately after stepping on campus, I felt this was home. I felt welcomed and loved.”

Lane also spoke about how important academics and athletics are, saying, “Penn State won me over because everything is complete. It’s the perfect mix of academics and high-level football, which is exactly what I was looking for.”

He also added how important the weekend in State College was telling Snyder, “They’ve always been very consistent and showing interest in me ever since they offered. They’ve shown me a bunch of love. When I got on campus for my official then, it was crazy. Everyone knew my name, even people I never met before. Stuff like that always makes you feel good.”

Lane is a big commitment to get for Penn State. He’s their first safety prospect in the class of 2024 and fits what they want to do on defense perfectly.

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Penn State’s busy recruiting weekend nets edge rusher Xavier Gilliam

Penn State’s solid recruiting weekend continued with this new addition to the Class of 2024.

It was a productive weekend for Penn State’s recruiting efforts. On the same weekend the Nittany Lions added another offensive lineman to the recruiting class for 2024, Penn State picked up a defensive lineman to add to the mix as well. [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag], a recruiting target out of Maryland, announced his commitment to the program on Sunday afternoon.

Gilliam, a 6′-2″ 260-pound edge rusher, committed to Penn State while making an official visit to the campus this weekend. It must have gone well to lead to a verbal commitment. Gilliam had other official visits on deck with stops at Virginia Tech, Duke, and NC State. Those visits will no longer take place as Gilliam is locked into his new commitment.

Gilliam is rated as a three-star recruit by both 247Sports and On3. In addition to offers from Penn State, Virginia Tech, NC State, and Duke, Gilliam also held offers from Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M, and Boston College. Other Big Ten offers for Gilliam included Indiana, Minnesota, and Maryland.

Gilliam is the 16th member of Penn State’s Class of 2024 at the moment. Penn State currently has the nation’s sixth-ranked recruiting class for 2024 according to the most recently updated team rankings from 247Sports.

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