Friday Mailbag: Will Penn State sign an elite linebacker class in 2023?

Week 0 is finally upon us in both high school and college football.

August was always going to be a slow month on the recruiting trail, but with games starting up this week, Penn State will be hosting players on campus in the very near future. September 1 also marks the staff's first opportunity to initiate conversations with prospects in the Class of 2023. Throughout the past year, James Franklin and his staff could only start a conversation with high school coaches, leaving it up to the recruits and their families to take it from there. That's all about to change next week.

To wrap up August, there are a handful of questions on the minds of fans, including a few about the linebacker position, both in this year's class and next year.

Blue White Illustrated's Ryan Snyder discusses that and much more below.

Yeah, this is a good one. We're slowly starting to turn the page to 2023, and when you start to look across the region, it's clear that linebacker is very deep. In Pennsylvania alone, there are four really good prospects, including the top player in the state, Ta'Mere Robinson. You'll also find two other Rivals250 prospects in Josiah Trotter and Semaj Bridgeman, as well as a player who I expect to blowup this fall in Pennridge linebacker Phil Picciotti. Penn State has offered all four.

When you add in Virginia native and IMG Academy prospect Jordan Hall, who visited State College in June, that's four top 200 prospects and an up-and-comer in Picciotti who all think highly of the Nittany Lions early in the process. All of them have been on campus already, with the three top-ranked players - Robinson, Trotter and Bridgeman - visiting multiple times.

I genuinely believe that all of them are realistic at this stage in the process. Trotter has already narrowed his list to four schools, which includes Clemson, Ohio State and South Carolina. His brother players for Clemson and the Buckeyes are never easy to beat out, but Brent Pry and the defensive staff made a very good impression on him this summer.

I had a few contacts suggest that Penn State may hold an early edge with Robinson at the end of July, but he needs to see some games this season before I think we can seriously consider making any predictions. Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Pitt all hosted him in June.

Bridgeman may actually be the most realistic as of Aug. 2021, but again, I feel like all of these guys need to get out and see games. Robinson is the only one of this group who actually attended games in 2019. Those visits are important, so once we get deep into fall and then into 2022, it'll be easier to predict.

But if you told me that any of those five will sign with Penn State in 16 months from now, it wouldn't surprise me.

Related: A top 2022 prospect is planning an official visit next month

Is it possible? Sure, especially if you consider DJ Wesolak a linebacker. I wrote a story on him about three weeks ago and he made it clear at the time that he wants to play linebacker at the next level. At 6-4, 238 pounds, it's possible, but if he keeps growing, it may force him to rush off the edge at the next level, so I'm torn on where to list him right now. Penn State seems to be entertaining the idea.

“They see me as a Micah Parsons comparison," Wesolak said. "Micah played D-end all throughout high school, but as soon as he went to college, he was a middle linebacker that could rush, but also had that athletic ability to cover the field. That's how I see myself, so I love that.”

Of course, Baltimore native Jaishawn Barham is also very much in the mix, but man, he's hard to read. The popular pick with Barham remains Maryland, but he needs to take a few more visits this fall. An official visit to Florida should come at some point, as well as Penn State and possibly South Carolina.

As for the probability, it's hard to say because at this stage, it's mainly about adding the best possible prospects at either wide receiver, offensive line, defensive end or linebacker. We know Barham's teammate, Andre Roye, will commit next month. If he joins Penn State, you still have lot of good players out there, and I don't see this class surpassing 26. It may very well just come down to who commits first. We see that a lot at the end of each class.

So, another linebacker is definitely possible, but probably less than 50/50 when I look at the landscape. Also, when you consider what I wrote above about how deep the linebacker class is for 2023, that's something the staff will certainly consider when they have to make tough decisions in the months ahead.

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I don't see Beau Pribula or Drew Allar signing anywhere else.

Pribula has been rock solid with his commitment throughout not only a major coaching change - he was very close with Kirk Ciarrocca - but also the decision to add another quarterback in this class. He had two opportunities earlier this year to possibly reconsider and he never wavered. I don't see anything coming in the months ahead that would give him a reason to pump the breaks. He's one of the leaders in this class and has been from the very start. He's a Nittany Lion through and through.

I addressed Allar two weeks ago in my mailbag. He made it clear at the time that not only has Ohio State not even contacted him, but even if they did, he's "totally locked in" and that there's "no where else I'd rather be." He's another leader in this class and both of these guys tweeted out their "107% Locked In" tweets earlier this year. I know things have changed a bit at Ohio State since then, but we haven't seen any movement from the Buckeyes in the weeks since. That's not just with Allar, but any quarterback nationally.

It's also important to note that the majority of top programs already have a quarterback committed. Every four or five-star quarterback on Rivals has already committed. In fact, out of the 45 quarterbacks who are ranked currently, only two of them remain uncommitted at the moment. I'm sure a few schools will look to poach if they think they can upgrade, but the 2022 quarterback market is pretty much settled at this point.

Related: Analyzing Penn State's Class of 2022 by average points per player

Kaytron Allen checked in at 5-foot-11, 227 pounds when he visited earlier this summer. I haven't been able to see him in person, so it's hard for me to answer how he looks with any specifics, but Penn State isn't taking a player who's not working hard in the gym.

Also, his performance last week - 227 yards rushing and three touchdowns - was against one of the deepest high schools in the country, American Heritage. Their defense alone features three Rivals250 prospects, defensive end Marvin Jones Jr., as well as defensive backs Earl Little and Daemon Fagan. They also have three other defensive players committed to Indiana, Syracuse and West Virginia. Out of their 11 defensive starters, pretty much all of them will play at the Football Bowl Subdivision or Football Championship Subdivision. So, he did that against an elite squad. That's what made it so impressive, and why National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney wrote that they may need to move him up in the rankings.

As for George Pettaway, Penn State has to keep recruiting guys in case things change, but with two running backs committed, and maybe more importantly, quality prospects remaining at other positions, on top of limited scholarships, I don't see another running back signing with the Nittany Lions this year. All signs point to North Carolina for Pettaway.

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