Recruiting Mailbag: Is Penn State still in the mix with WR Andre Greene?

Penn State is coming off its best week on the recruiting trail since July, as the Nittany Lions earned two verbal commitments from Class of 2022 offensive lineman Andre Roye and Class of 2023 tight end Mathias Barnwell. I tried to hint about Barnwell in last week's mailbag without giving it away. Hopefully some of you picked up on that. He was the player I was referring to when I mentioned potential commitments in the weeks ahead.

With that said, there are certainly a few notable 2023 prospects coming to town Saturday for another night game inside Beaver Stadium. If you missed it, check out our complete visitor list here.

As of now, I don't see a 2023 player committing Saturday night, although it should still be a good day for the Nittany Lions, as Omari Evans is expected to announce.

Greg Pickel and I addressed his situation yesterday.

As for this week's mailbag, most of the questions centered around the Class of 2023, as well as Penn State's pursuit of WR Andre Greene.

We'll talk about that below, but first, please be sure to check out our sponsor, JFQ Lending, for all of your lending needs, including great refinancing rates.

There are 76 days remaining until the early signing period, so throwing in the towel isn't the right way to describe. Penn State will continue pursuing Andre Greene Jr., regardless of what Evans decides. Even if they add Evans, they would still find room for Greene. He's too good of a player.

Penn State did have interest in potentially hosting him for an official visit this weekend - as well as for the Auburn game - but Greene decided to go elsewhere. Moving forward, he's pretty much the only uncommitted 2022 prospect who I could see coming in for an official visit the rest of the year, as Aamil Wagner, Jaishawn Barham, Larry Turner-Gooden and others already used an official to see University Park.

With that said, there's only so much Penn State can do here. Even if they did get him on campus for the Michigan game or whenever, they have ground to make up. Clemson, Georgia and North Carolina are all likely ahead of the Lions currently. I think if Greene had real interest in PSU, he would've used that official by now.

As for Darrius Clemons, Penn State is no longer pushing for him. Evans and Greene simply emerged as their top receiver targets to finish out the Class of 2022.

There's plenty of top 2023 talent interested in Penn State. For anyone who subscribes, all you have to do is look at the June/July visitor list, as well as the combined lists of visitors we've put together over the past three games to see that there's a ton of talented players that have real interest.

For those of you who can't see the lists, I'll provide the cliff notes: they hosted over 30 scholarship prospects in the Class of 2023 in June alone. July's visit period was just a week long and they hosted nearly 20 scholarship prospects in the span of six days. There's some overlap between that total, but the point remains that they're getting plenty of the players that they covet on campus early and often.

The White Out list then featured over 50 uncommitted scholarship prospects, and while that number includes some in 2024 and 2025, the vast majority of that number is made of 2023 prospects. Again, there's overlap, as a handful of guys have visited three times now since the COVID-19 dead period ended, but that's still a great sign. It's actually a bit higher compared to previous summers, although it should be after 16 months of no visits at all. Another good sign is that over half of those players hold a four-star rating currently.

However, I will also note that the region as a whole is down compared to 2022. Maryland has just two players in the Rivals250. That number is usually closer to 10. New Jersey has just four and averages about nine. Virginia is in a similar position. Fortunately, Pennsylvania is the one Mid-Atlantic state that has a total number of Rivals250 prospects that's close to its average.

One other note: Penn State has already hosted scholarship players from Alabama, California, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, among other states, so I think they're doing a good job building early relationships with guys who can't just hop in the car and drive to State College.

Penn State just added two Class of 2023 commitments last month, bringing its total to three. That's as much or more than all but six schools across the country, and even out of those six, Texas A&M, Florida and Florida State have just four each.

So, in my eyes, James Franklin and his staff are actually ahead of the curve a bit for 2023. They have more commitments than any other Big Ten program. Ohio State has just one, while Michigan hasn't earned any in that class yet.

As for the five-star question, right now, I don't see too many of those players showing a lot of interest in Penn State. I will note that a source told me this week that Ath. Samuel M'Pemba from IMG Academy is planning to attend the Michigan game in November, but with that matchup still six weeks out, let's see where he stands in a month from now. Getting him on campus would be a great sign though.

When you look at Rivals' rankings, the only two potential five-star guys I really see PSU having a solid chance with are OL Chase Bisontis and DT Jason Moore. Rivals gradually hands out five-star ratings throughout the year, but with Bisontis ranking No. 29 currently and Moore ranking No. 32, both have a real shot at earning that distinction. I'm sure one or two others will move up as well. Rivals usually awards five-star ratings to around 30 players. Currently only seven players in 2023 have earned that fifth star.

All three of these guys are very quiet, so get used to that.

Dylan Gooden was invited to the Auburn game, but he ultimately didn't make the trip. Evan Link and Cam Seldon did make the trip, and I've tried reaching out to both a few times, but haven't had much luck. In fact, those two haven't done a true interview detailing their recruitments with any reporter from the three major sites so far.

Gooden has talked about his recruitment a handful of times, and Penn State is among the group of schools he's speaking with most frequently. Maryland, Pitt and West Virginia are the only campuses he's seen so far, so there's a ways to go for him. Until he gets to visit Penn State, there's not much to really discuss. I do expect him to be at a game at some point this season.

I do know that Penn State is very high on all three. Sources rave to me about Seldon every chance they get. He checked in around 6-foot-1, 205 pounds when he visited two weeks ago, so he's probably headed towards being a safety at the moment, although if he adds an inch or two, linebacker is certainly possible.

As for Link, he's one of Penn State's top offensive tackle prospects at 6-foot-6, 255 pounds. His build and athleticism is exactly what Phil Trautwein is looking for, and I know contacts have said before that they feel good about the connection he's built with Traut to this point.

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