Friday Mailbag: What's the deal with Drew Shelton?

Blue White Illustrated's Ryan Snyder has started a new Friday feature, opening up his Twitter notifications for fans to ask any recruiting question they'd like. Now, even those who don't subscribe to BWI will get the opportunity to ask questions, and with official visits just days away, there's plenty to discuss. Check out this week's answers below.

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There was no shortage of Drew Shelton questions this week, which shouldn’t be a total surprise. For those that follow Rivals, Shelton admitted to our Florida site this week, Gators Territory, that he’s been talking to Florida’s coaches for months now and that he’s developed a good relationship with the staff. That really wasn’t a secret. That’s something we’ve known for months now. To Shelton’s credit, he’s always been open about that, but whenever an article comes out, it gets the attention of fans. That’s understandable.

Here’s what you guys will love to hear: Shelton will be on campus this Tuesday, June 1. That’s a great sign. IMG Academy ended its classes last week, so he’s back in Pennsylvania. Like so many others in this class, Shelton hasn’t taken a true visit with the coaches yet. He came up on his own to tour campus back in August, and then again in October, but this will be his first time inside the Lasch Building.

It should also be noted that he’s far from the only committed player speaking with coaches elsewhere. We saw that with Kaden Saunders earlier in the year and those two won’t be the last in this class to admit that publicly. Shelton said this week that he’d possibly consider a visit in the fall. Personally, I think as long as he doesn’t visit any schools this summer, there won’t be much to worry about. I expect a flood of commitments between now and the start of the season. Florida and Notre Dame, who he’s also speaking with, may not even have scholarships available by then. So keep an eye on what he does this summer. If he doesn't travel to any schools, that's big. If he does, it could be something to watch closely.

As for the unspoken rule, Penn State offers kids committed elsewhere all the time. That's definitely not how it works in 2021.

When it comes to visits, absolutely. Penn State hosts a ton of recruits every June, but the majority of those visits take place over the weekends. That’ll still be the case this year, but I’m also expecting prospects to be on campus nearly everyday between June 1-27. I posted a June visitor list earlier today, and on that list, you’ll notice that I already have players confirmed for every day next week. I expect to see something similar to that over the next four weeks. There may be one or two days each week where there’s no recruit on campus, but with school ending, we’ll see a ton of players coming up throughout the week to get some one-on-one time with Franklin and his assistants.

In regards to commitments, I actually think July may be the busier month, but only time will tell. Because we went so long without visits, I do genuinely believe that the majority of the 2022 prospects taking official visits will end up seeing all of their top schools. Some will decide to end it early and commit before leaving campus, but most of these guys will try to get all of their visits in. In most years, these top prospects will see their top three or so schools a handful of times each. That makes it easier for them to just randomly commit one day while on campus. That’s not the case this year, so that’s why I lean towards July being the busier month, although that final week in June could end up being very busy, too. Penn State will pick up at least a few commitments this month, but I could see the dominos really starting to fall all across the country once the next dead period begins June 28.

Ah yes, the million dollar question that I’m asked all the time. If you would’ve asked me this last week, I never would’ve said Alex Bacchetta, although, in fairness, we always thought he would end up at Penn State. I just expected him to take his official visit first. Will there be a commitment before official visits start? That would surprise me, although cornerback Julian Humphrey decided yesterday to end it before taking his visits. It’s college football recruiting, and things change daily, but these players have been waiting a very long time to take these visits. Because of that, it’s hard for me to see that happening.

When I look at the visitor list for the first weekend, I don’t see many guys that make sense that weekend either. Offensive lineman Ryan Brubaker is a player who I could see ending up here, but I expect him to take his visits first. He really likes South Carolina, too, so that’s a school I expect him to see. That second week is when I could see a player committing. Jaeden Gould makes the most sense at the moment. We know Penn State is high on him. He’s also expected to go to USC the weekend before, and after that, he has nothing scheduled. Keep an eye on the Bergen Catholic prospect.

From what I’ve gathered so far, I expect Dani Dennis-Sutton to visit Ohio State. When that visit will come is still up in the air, but just getting him on campus is big for the Buckeyes. Now, with that said, he also told our Ohio State site, BuckeyeGrove, that “it will be tough because I have these other relationships with these other coaches.” He went on to add, “I’m keeping my options open. I’m not committed right now. But like I said, I do have a really good connection with the coaches at Penn State. They’ve been there ever since freshman year, they took a risk on me and I appreciate that.”

Now, recruits say a lot of things publicly that they don’t really mean, but after reaching out to some people close to McDonogh, they also reiterated that it will be hard for Larry Johnson Sr. and Ohio State to beat out the relationships he's already formed. Dennis-Sutton has always been open and honest throughout this entire process, so I have no reason to ever doubt anything he says. It’ll ultimately just depend on how much those long-standing relationships matter. We know the Nittany Lions have the edge in the relationship department. I think that’s pretty much public knowledge at this point. Also, don’t sleep on the SEC schools. Georgia and Alabama have often beat out Penn State for elite recruits in the past. Whether it be their faculties, the allure of the SEC or something else, I think it’s smart to be cautiously optimistic if you’re a Penn State fan. The Nittany Lions should definitely be considered the favorite today, but in a few short weeks, he’ll actually have something to compare Penn State with. That’s when we’ll really know if he’s coming to Happy Valley or not.

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