Penn State trending to add two blue-chippers to its top-10 recruiting class

James Franklin and Penn State have made their mark early and often in the 2024 recruiting cycle, hovering in or around the top 10 of the On3 Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings for the better part of a year.

With a little more than five months to go until the Early Signing Period in December, the Nittany Lions already have 22 commitments, including 13 four-stars — all of whom are ranked nationally among the top 300 prospects.

With most of their class filled out, Franklin and Co. can focus their attention down to a few remaining targets. Two of those, four-star offensive lineman Liam Andrews and four-star defensive lineman T.A. Cunningham, are set to announce their commitments later this week.

PSU on top for Andrews

Heading into those decisions, it’s Penn State out in front of the pack for both talented interior maulers, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM).

After expert predictions from BlueWhiteIllustrated’s Sean Fitz earlier this week, the Nittany Lions hold an 88.5 percent chance of securing Cunningham’s commitment and a 91.1 percent chance of landing Andrews, per the RPM.

“I would say what separates Penn State is just their consistency and how they’ve recruited me since day one,” Andrews told BWI following his official visit. “They’ve been recruiting me hard. But also, just the conversations with their staff about my interest in playing the defensive side of the ball. Their flexibility with that, while also being real with me as well. Watching my film with them, they’re showing me I can actually play there, that I’m a good enough defensive lineman to do that.

Andrews, who could play either on the offensive or defensive line at the next level, is the nation’s No. 61 overall prospect in the latest On300 rankings. He is expected to announce his decision July 21.

Penn State battling Miami and others for Cunningham

As for Cunningham, Penn State is the lone school to receive an official visit so far.

“Penn State is definitely the place to become a great football player but also a better man,” he told BWI last month. “Coach [James] Franklin and coach [Deion] Barnes believe in me in a special type of way.”

The 6-foot-6, 275-pounder has led a circuitous path during his high school career, moving from John’s Creek (Georgia) to Los Alamitos (Calif.) before ultimately landing at Miami (Fla.) Central to play his senior season.

Prior to taking his official visit to State College, Cunningham told On3 that Franklin’s straightforward approach was a big reason for his interest in the Nittany Lions.

“Listening to him talk to all the recruits, he speaks with no caveats or contingencies,” Cunningham said. “He talks to you real. Everything he says is the exact same thing he’d say to a player on campus. He’s a real coach and obviously, he’s been showing me a lot of love. I’ve been getting recruited by him since my sophomore year.”

Cunningham, the nation’s No. 257 overall prospect and No. 28 defensive lineman, will announce his decision on July 22.