Penn State Football taps into McDonogh pipeline, landing DE Mason Robinson
The good news keeps on coming for Penn State.
On Tuesday, the Nittany Lions landed three-star defensive end Mason Robinson, completing a flip of the Owings Mills (MD) native from the Northwestern Wildcats.
This marks the second commitment in two days for Penn State following a crucial official visit weekend. Joining Connecticut defensive end Joseph Mupoyi, who announced his own commitment on Monday. The 6-foot-3 edge rusher originally committed to the Wildcats back in May before decommitting from the program on Monday morning.
Robinson is rated as the ninth-best prospect in the state of Maryland the 34th-best weakside defensive end in the country.
His decommitment from the Wildcats came just one day after he finished an official visit to Penn State. The Nittany Lions reemerged as a potential landing spot over the last few weeks, as the one-time target became a clear flip target for James Franklin and his coaching staff. Coaching changes in Evanston, helped the Nittany Lions' cause as the Wildcats had a string of firings including defensive line coach Marty Long.
Robinson is the 21st commitment in Penn State's 2023 recruiting class and the third defensive end joining Jameial Lyons and the aforementioned Joseph Mupoyi. He'll look to follow in the footsteps of DE Dani Dennis-Sutton, LB Curtis Jacobs, DT Dvon Ellies, and DT PJ Mustipher, as McDonogh alumni to have success in Happy Valley.
According to MaxPreps, Robinson recorded 83 tackles including six tackles for a loss and nine sacks in nine games as a senior for McDonogh. His senior highlight tape backs up the stat sheet as the Maryland native showed vast improvements from his junior tape thanks to a good burst as well as quality athleticism and strength.
Outside of Northwestern and Penn State, other schools to offer Robinson included Boston College, Duke, Georgia, Maryland, Miami (FL), Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.