Rivals250 DE/LB Anto Saka calls Penn State a 'strong contender' post-vist
Penn State hosted Rivals250 prospect Anto Saka for his penultimate official visit this weekend, and as expected, James Franklin and his coaching staff left a strong impression on the Towson, Md., native and his family.
Over the past two weeks, Saka took official visits to Northwestern (June 4-6) and USC (June 11-13). There was a lot of talk in recent days that USC may now be the team to beat for the Loyola Blakefield hybrid player, but Penn State assured that they’ll have a major say come decision time, too.
“So, the thing that stood out to me right away was how big and surreal Beaver Stadium is,” Saka said. “We did the player walkout there, just like how it would be for a game, and even with no fans in there, it was still so cool. Just imagining the energy in that place, especially for that Michigan game, I was just imagining myself being in that situation and it was surreal.
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“But also, I would have to say how close-knit everyone is there. Their whole team is really close, and that made it extremely easy to bond with them throughout the weekend. My host was Zuriah Fisher, who’s such a great dude. He’s funny and he did a great job getting me around all the guys. They were all easy to talk with. We had a great time.”
At 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, Saka has the frame and athleticism to play either linebacker or defensive end at the next level. At the Baltimore Under Armour camp in the beginning of May, he ran a 4.62-second 40-yard dash, while also running the shuttle in 4.54 seconds. Those numbers, combined with a 117-inch broad jump, suggest that there’s plenty for the staff to work with.
“I played both [positions], so I have experience with both,” Saka said. “I did spend most of my time with Coach [John] Scott, but I also was around the other coaches, too. What it seems like to me is that they plan to start me out as a defensive end, but they’re open to me playing linebacker as well depending on how I develop. But for the most part, I spent the majority of my time with Coach Deion [Barnes] and Coach Scott.”
Both Scott and Barnes have had plenty of communication with Saka and his family since offering him at the end of February, but this was the first time they were able to meet in person.
“Coach Scott, I love that dude. I look at him like a father figure kind of person,” Saka said. “He’s easy to relate with and is real energetic. With Deion, he’s like my big brother. I feel like I can talk to him about anything. It doesn’t have to be football-related with him. If I have something on my mind, I know I can hit him up. We connect like brothers. That’s my guy. Also, they’re both so knowledgeable. In just the short amount of time I was there, I felt like they taught me a lot and exposed me to some new things. That was great.”
On Sunday morning, Saka and his family ended their visit with a one-on-one talk with Franklin in his office. He said that unlike his previous two visits this month, Franklin didn’t try to sell his family or pitch them anything to end the visit. Instead, he listened.
“What was so cool about that talk was that he never pitched us anything,” Saka said. “That talk is usually their last chance to pitch you on why their school is best before you leave, but he didn’t do that at all. He didn’t pitch anything. He brought me and my family in and asked us to give him our two cents on everything. He didn’t give us any sort of sales pitch, nothing of that sort. He just sat there and listened to what we had to say. It went really well.”
Of the four schools he’s seriously considering - Michigan will earn an official visit next week - Penn State was the first school to offer, although only a few weeks before Northwestern. He said his upcoming decision, which will take place in early to mid-July, will be a difficult one, but the Nittany Lions will be a “strong contender.”
“Penn State was the first school to offer me an official visit and there’s a reason I said yes without any hesitation,” Saka said. “They’re absolutely a strong contender for me because I love the people over there. I love the facilities. It’s a small college town, but on game day, it becomes one of the biggest towns [in Pennsylvania]. It’s an incredible program.”
He went on to add, “Every school that I booked an official visit with has a realistic shot of landing a commitment from me. I thought about it long and hard when I was setting these all up. My USC visit was great and my Northwestern visit was great, too. They all rolled out the red carpet for me, so that’s going to make this hard.”
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