Four-Star OL Jimmy Christ commits to Penn State
Penn State picked up what's expected to be one of its final few commitments in the Class of 2020 Friday night when offensive lineman Jimmy Christ announced that he had switched his commitment to the Nittany Lions.
A Rivals250 prospect, Christ emerged on the staff's radar following a strong junior season in 2018. He then visited for the first time last November for the game against Wisconsin, which was followed by an offer just over a month later. Christ went on to visit Penn State two more times in February and March.
However, he also had a close relationship with Bronco Mendenhall and his staff at Virginia. When you add in the fact that his brother, Tommy Christ, plays defensive tackle for the Cavaliers, it wasn't a complete surprise when Christ announced his commitment to Virginia on April 30. It came just a day or two after he completed an official visit to Charlottesville.
But like all good recruiters, Franklin and his staff stayed in contact with Christ. Throughout the season, he had been speaking with not only assistant coaches Tyler Bowen and Matt Limegrover, as well as regional recruiter Ja'Juan Seider, but also Franklin himself.
Over the course of his recruitment, Christ earned 40 scholarship offers from some the nation's best programs. Clemson, Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma were just a handful of the schools that pursued the 6-foot-7, 295 pound offensive tackle.
Christ is also the sixth and likely final offensive lineman to join this year's class. Nicholas Dawkins and Golden Achumba are both expected to begin their careers as interior prospects, while Olu Fashanu, Devin Willock, Ibrahim Traore and Christ will all begin at offensive tackle.
In addition to a four-star rating, Christ is ranked No. 248 overall in the nation. He's the 22nd-ranked offensive tackle and the third-ranked prospect in Virginia for the Class of 2020. His commitment moved the Nittany Lions up to No. 11 in the Rivals Team Rankings.
Christ is expected to visit Penn State next weekend for the game against Indiana.
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