Meet the Nittany Lions' seven 'green light' freshmen

AS A RECRUIT The highest ranked signee in Penn State's Class of 2018, Parsons was the first verbal commitment before he reopened his recruitment in April of his junior year. The five-star and the best prospect in Pennsylvania went on to take official visits to Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Nebraska before signing with the Lions in December. He enrolled in January.

DEPTH CHART PLACEMENT Parsons debuts as the second-string Will LB behind senior Koa Farmer. He'll also likely factor in on special teams.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING Facing Parsons on a regular basis throughout camp, junior tight end Jonathan Holland has gotten a firsthand perspective of Parsons recently and calls him a "crazy athlete" who is not only fast but strong and plays with a physical edge.

"I think Micah is a good player who is going to be a great player for us," said Holland. "You can kinda see it from spring ball until now, just because he was still learning the playbook so he wasn't playing as fast. But once camp came, he really got into his playbook and started knowing what he needed to do. You could just see his level of game elevate from the time he got here in the spring to where he is now. I think he’s done a whole lot of things that have impressed me. His ability to get off of blocks, his ability to blitz the quarterback and get the offensive lineman's hands off and stuff like that has really shown a lot of great things to the defensive coaches and the whole defense. There have been a number of great things that have impressed me about Micah."

AS A RECRUIT Slade had offers from every major conference and took unofficial visits to Florida, Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio State, Tennessee, Virginia and Virginia Tech before committing to Penn State just after signing day of the class before him. He took more than a half dozen unofficial visits to Penn State in 2017 before using his official visit Dec. 8-10.

DEPTH CHART PLACEMENT Slade is listed as the third-team running back behind starter Miles Sanders and veteran backup Mark Allen. Slade is also No. 3 at kick returner behind KJ Hamler and Journey Brown.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING "Ricky is obviously a very talented athlete, a very good running back, and we can use him multiple ways," said junior safety and fellow Virginia native Garrett Taylor, "like in the return game [or getting] reps at running back to give Miles and Mark a breather."

Taylor made it clear that it was ultimately up to the decision of Franklin and offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne, but he forecasted the possibility that they'd ease Slade into action in a similar spot-duty fashion that they rolled out Sanders as a true freshman.

"When Miles Sanders was a true freshman, you know how we used him? Kick return sometimes and then a couple reps here and there on offense," added Taylor. "I think you'll probably see a very similar role in my opinion. Obviously the coaches want to get him on the field and to break him in a little bit, so I think they're going to try to get him reps just to see how it goes."

AS A RECRUIT Mustipher verbally committed just over a year ago, following up on a scholarship offer he had received more than two years earlier. During his recruitment, he made a half-dozen visits to University Park, including three in the four months leading up to his commitment. Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Maryland, Tennessee and Virginia were also under consideration. Older brother Sam Mustipher is a senior center and Rimington Award watch-lister for Notre Dame, and the Irish made a big push for P.J., but younger brother opted to go his own direction.

DEPTH CHART PLACEMENT Mustipher is listed as the third-team defensive tackle behind starting junior Robert Windsor and sophomore Antonio Shelton.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING When Franklin first revealed his "green light" freshmen during Tuesday's press conference he initially omitted Mustipher from his list, perhaps because the Maryland native hasn't been practicing nor working out like a first-year player since he's arrived.

“He’s unusual,” said Franklin. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about it: I think he’s unusual. He’s a high-energy, high-motor guy, which usually doesn’t happen with guys that are 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds. I think that helps him. I think if you have a motor on the defensive line, that can solve a lot of issues for you, and he goes hard.

"You talk to players during summer workouts, conditioning tests, he’s crushing it. He came in with that. I think it helps that his dad played college football. I think it helps that his brother is the captain of Notre Dame football. He’s been around football his whole life. His dad played a big role in training him, not only in the weight room but also on the field. He came in pretty far along and came in with a really good mentality, as well. He played at a great high school program. I think that plays a factor into it. I think it’s all those things. I think he came in physically ready to play from a size and from a strength and from a movement standpoint.”

AS A RECRUIT Beginning his recruiting process with an unofficial visit to Notre Dame in April 2016, Freiermuth quickly picked up offers from the likes of UMass, Toledo, Boston College, Syracuse and Rutgers. After camping at Penn State in July 2016, he earned a scholarship offer and quickly returned to Happy Valley the next month. While on that unofficial, Freiermuth made the call for the Nittany Lions. He ultimately returned for three more unofficial visits before taking his official visit Dec. 8-10.

DEPTH CHART PLACEMENT Junior Jonathan Holland or sophomore Danny Dalton are atop the depth chart at tight end with junior Nick Bowers third behind them. Freiermuth is listed fourth but will get his opportunities.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING With Mike Gesicki now playing in the NFL, Penn State has a void at tight end and the coaches are currently planning on using a by-committee approach to help fill it. Holland and Dalton are listed as co-starters with an "or" separating their names and Bowers is slotted third. But Freiermuth is right there in the mix, too, based off his showings in both run blocking and receiving during preseason.

"Freiermuth can factor in partly because of how talented he is and how poised he’s been through this process," said Franklin, "but also that he’s 258, if not 260 pounds, and I think that helps in the physical aspect of the game."

AS A RECRUIT Luketa visited for the Blue-White Game during his sophomore year of high school and returned twice before earning his first offer, which came from Missouri. It wasn't until January of his junior year when he earned his Penn State scholarship, among a wealth of others. After visiting for a junior day in February, he verbally committed one week later. Though other offers continued to pour in, Luketa remained steadfast, visiting PSU unofficially six more times – while taking no other visits – before his official the weekend of Dec. 8. He enrolled in January

DEPTH CHART PLACEMENT Listed at No. 3 at middle linebacker, Luketa is behind starter and junior walk-on Jan Johnson and redshirt freshman Ellis Brooks. He'll also likely figure in on a couple special teams units.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING Luketa didn't arrive at PSU with the fanfare quite like classmate and fellow linebacker Micah Parsons, but the Canada native has kept pace alongside the five-star since they both arrived early as mid-semester enrollees. Luketa might not have the raw athleticism of Parsons, but he's shown to be a thumper in the run game and has quickly in absorbed the defensive playbook.

"He’s a young guy who’s got a lot of leadership tendencies,” said senior cornerback Amani Oruwariye. “He’s a very vocal guy and has what you look for in a Mike linebacker. He’s still young but he’s come a long way as well. He should definitely contribute a lot, and I’m excited for him."

AS A RECRUIT One month before camping at Penn State, a stop in July that yielded an offer from the Nittany Lions, Pinegar was at Oklahoma for a camp. After earning an offer from PSU just the following month, he committed the following day. Pinegar also earned offers from Bowling Green, Indiana and Northern Illinois. The Hoosiers were considered Penn State's top competitor.

DEPTH CHART PLACEMENT Pinegar is listed as the first-team field goal kicker, although coaches and teammates say the competition is still ongoing. Classmate Vlad Hilling and sophomore Justin Tobin are behind him. Additionally, Pinegar is the backup kickoff specialist.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING It was Pinegar's approach to the open competition and his consistent demeanor during practice that helped the scholarship specialist come out of camp as the first option to fill the spot as placekicker.

"I saw him handle it very well," said fifth-year senior long snapper Kyle Vasey. "I think that he really [competed] with a blue-collar mentality just like the rest of our guys that we had going. He was really able to thrive under pressure. Overall he brings a very mature aspect to it. He wasn’t really focused on over-kicking or totally tiring out his leg. He really focused on the nuances of kicking, so that’s why he was successful."

AS A RECRUIT Playing for high school powerhouse St. John's College High, Checa converted 100 percent of his PATs as a senior and hit 11 of 14 field goals, including a 47-yard long. He also averaged 42 yards per punt and was honored as an All-Met pick by the Washington Post. He committed as a preferred walk-on in December of his senior year.

DEPTH CHART PLACEMENT Checa earned the No. 1 spot for kickoffs. Classmates Pinegar and Hilling are behind him.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING At 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, Checa has a powerful build for a kicker and that in part provides a boost in his leg power and ability to send kickoffs deep. In addition to his physical gifts, Checa has impressed with his mentality during practice.

"He's really approached it with a mature aspect and a mature attitude," said Vasey. "I love everything I've seen from him on kickoffs. I personally have not seen kickoffs go that deep into the end zone in my entire career, so I’m very excited to see what he can do."