Signed: DT Judge Culpepper
WHAT HE DID: The son of former Tampa Bay Buccaneer defensive tackle Brad Culpepper, Judge was a three-year starter at one of the top high school programs in the entire nation. He helped lead Plant to a 34-6 record during the span, which included a birth in the Florida 7A State Championship in 2016. During his senior season, he totaled 84 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and eight sacks.
WHAT HE WON: Culpepper earned all-conference and all-country honors his junior and senior seasons. He was also an all-state selection his junior season. Florida is yet to name its all-state teams for 2017. Culpepper is a four-star prospect on Rivals.com, coming in at No. 61 in Florida and No. 20 overall at strong-side defensive end. However, he’s expected to play defensive tackle for the Lions.
WHERE HE VISITED: Earning more than 30 scholarship offers, Culpepper ultimately narrowed his list to Penn State, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Nebraska and Syracuse. Many believed that his father’s alma mater, Florida, was the team to beat throughout his recruitment, but that began to change in Jan. 2017 when he earned an offer from Penn State. He built a strong relationship with James Franklin and Sean Spencer in the following months, which led to an unofficial visit this past April. He called that trip “the best visit I’ve ever taken,” but went on to visit most of the other schools he was seriously considering before returning to State College on July 12. Culpepper ended up committing two days later.
QUOTABLE: Culpepper - “I’m really honored and humbled to be part of such an unbelievable program and to play for such a great fanbase. I just want them to know that I’m going to do everything I can to make sure Penn State gets back to winning national championships.”
PHIL’S TAKE: An extremely athletic defensive line prospect, Culpepper should begin his career at the three-technique defensive tackle position when he arrives at Penn State next month, but he also has the athleticism to play the strong-side defensive end position. That athleticism was on full display throughout his high school career, as he played tight end all three seasons at Plant. At 6-foot-4, 260 pounds, Culpepper is very similar to redshirt junior defensive lineman Ryan Buchholz. With Culpepper set to enroll early, don’t be surprised if he’s able to work his way into the rotation within a year or two.