Welcome to the Happy Valley Insider Round Table discussion, where our staff gets together to offer our opinions on several recruiting topics in regard to Penn State Football.
In this week's round table discussion we offer our thoughts on the 2024 recruiting class now that they are signed, sealed and delivered.
Which prospect in the class do you think will have the best career at Penn State?
DYLAN CALLAGHAN-CROLEY...
Marty and Richie both had great picks and I would've been comfortable going with either prospect. But I will go in a different direction and maybe even a little bit of a limb with safety DeJuan Lane. The Maryland native has everything that the Nittany Lions love in their safety prospects and you combine that with the coaching experience and development history of Anthony Poindexter and it's a potential match made in heaven. The Nittany Lions have had a great string of safeties over the last few years and Lane looks to be the next one up in that line. I believe Lane has the ability to be an All-Big Ten level safety and could develop into quite a high draft pick.
MARTY LEAP....
This is a great class, making this a tough call, but I will go with Quinton Martin. Martin is an elite athlete capable of scoring each time he touches the ball. The Belle Vernon product could likely be an all-conference performer at running back or wide receiver in college. I think he will be used all over the field in Andy Kotelnicki's offense and put together a tremendous collegiate career.
RICHIE SCHNYDERITE....
Since Marty stole my answer here, I'll change it up and go with Luke Reynolds. The converted quarterback to tight end prospect has made quite a bit of noise this recruiting cycle as he went from unranked all the way up to a four-star and currently sits as one of the best tight ends in his entire class. Now the staff has been stacking some serious talent in the tight end room over the years, but he should be able to see the field relatively early throughout his career because the staff like their 12 personnel sets and If all goes right, he has a good shot of ending up as the next Penn State TE to make the NFL.
Which prospect has the best chance to outplay their recruiting ranking/rating?
DYLAN CALLAGHAN-CROLEY....
While I think his ranking is quite fair, I'm going to go with tight end Luke Reynolds. The Connecticut native is an athletic freak and has a chance to be an elite tight end for the Nittany Lions rather quickly in his collegiate career. He could be making an impact on the field as early as this upcoming season.
MARTY LEAP....
I'll give you two! Give me the Mandarin High School cornerback duo of Jon Mitchell and Antoine Belgrave-Shorter. In my opinion, they are both four-star talents at the cornerback position, if not borderline top-100 talents. I believe both of these players can play early in their Penn State careers on their way to being all-conference performers and future top-100 draft picks.
RICHIE SCHNYDERITE....
Now I know I just Marty stole my pick above and I'll pick a different one, but not sure I can here as Jon Mitchell is just that good of a defensive back. Personally I feel he's severely underrated as he has the speed and man to man coverage skills that everyone wants in a cornerback prospect. Not to mention he's a legit 6-foot-1, 180-pounds or so and has crazy fast track times, so everything adds up to him being the next big name Penn State defensive back.
Biggest recruiting win of the cycle for the Nittany Lions?
DYLAN CALLAGHAN-CROLEY.....
I've decided to choose Jaylen Harvey for this pick, primarily due to the extensive duration of the Nittany Lions' involvement with the four-star prospect and the prolonged nature of the recruitment process. Penn State faced stiff competition from USC, Maryland, and Florida, among others, throughout this recruitment. Even when it seemed like USC was taking the lead, James Franklin and Deion Barnes remained resilient, continuing their efforts to secure Harvey.
The turning point came during the White Out visit in September, which played a crucial role in tipping the scales in favor of the Nittany Lions. Harvey, with immense potential as a defensive end prospect, boasts a skill set reminiscent of Chop Robinson.
MARTY LEAP....
I'm going to go with Liam Andrews. I debated taking him as the player in this class who has the best career, he can be a real game changer at defensive tackle. Early in his recruitment Penn State looked like the school to beat before seemingly becoming a second thought. To the credit of the staff, they never gave up in their relentless pursuit of Andrews and were able to land him. When you combine his potential and the way Penn State had to battle in this recruitment, give me Andrews.
RICHIE SCHNYDERITE....
This is a tough one as it could go a lot of different ways here, but I'm going with edge rusher Jaylen Harvey out of Maryland. He was considered a Penn State lean for a long time, but other programs started throw some insane NIL numbers at him once he started to add more muscle and made the full time move from linebacker to edge rusher, but in the end the Nittany Lions were able to hold off programs like Maryland, USC and several others to win this one out and get back recruiting well in the state of Maryland.
Who was Penn State's best recruiter this cycle in your opinion?
DYLAN CALLAGHAN-CROLEY...
The clear choice here is Deion Barnes. In his inaugural year as the Nittany Lions' defensive line coach, Barnes orchestrated an impressive overhaul, assembling an elite class. The likes of Jaylen Harvey, Mylachi Williams, and T.A. Cunningham showcase tremendous potential, boasting sky-high ceilings. Additionally, players such as DeAndre Cook and Xavier Gilliam bring a combination of robust ceilings and solid foundations, making them valuable additions to the defensive line room.
MARTY LEAP....
Give me Deion Barnes. There is certainly an argument to be made for Phil Trautwein with this offensive line class, but due to it being his first cycle as a position coach, I'll go with Barnes. Landing one of the best defensive line classes of the James Franklin Era in his first cycle as defensive line coach gives the nod to Barnes.
RICHIE SCHNYDERITE....
I'm also going to have to go with Deion Barnes, for his first full recruiting cycle he was able to land one heck of a haul with six defensive linemen coming in and four of them with four-star status. The other two being three-stars, but you can see some serious potential in those guys as well. There was concern early on in the cycle, but the young assistant coach is already proving to be a pretty damn good recruiter.
Overall thoughts on the class as a whole
DYLAN CALLAGHAN-CROLEY...
This may not be the strongest class in recent memory for the Nittany Lions but it's still a very good class, a great class even. Perhaps it's not a headlining class but this is a class that will play great compliment to the NIttany Lions' classes of the last few cycles. Most importantly, it was a strong class in the trenches where ultimately games are won and loss in the Big Ten. Furthermore, the class has brought in high-caliber skill talent, with standouts like Ethan Grunkemeyer, Quinton Martin, Tyseer Denmark, and others. Despite being ranked at No. 17 overall, there's a sense that the class is underrated. Given the potential of the individual players and the collective strength across positions, it wouldn't be surprising if the class surpasses expectations and outperforms its ranking.
Marty
This is a really good class. It's not as good as the highly touted 2018 or 2022 classes, but outside of those two it's in the discussion as the best James Franklin has signed at Penn State. Part of what makes it so strong is that it is a great class in the trenches, both offensively and defensively, while also having a very good quarterback in the class. Mix in some really good offensive playmakers and a damn good defensive back class, and this is a really good class for Penn State.
RICHIE SCHNYDERITE...
It sounds weird to say out loud, but this class is an underrated one for Penn State. Yes they are ranked the No. 17 overall recruiting class in the country, but they landed some really good underrated kids in my opinion. Several of the three-star guys easily could be argued for bumps and even some of the higher ranked guys are a bit underrated in the overall recruit rankings. Not too mention, there's a lot of guys who have high ceiling potential like a TA Cunningham type who was once ranked in the top 10 overall prospects in the country. This class not only builds depth, but also adds some solid talent as well as they continue to make that push for the College Football Playoffs.
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