How much space is left in the Penn State Class of 2023? Terry Smith talks that, White Out recruiting impact, more
Penn State has 20 Class of 2023 commitments to date. The group ranks 12th in the On3 Consensus recruiting team rankings. It is a balanced group. Nine prospects project as players on offense at the next level, leaving 11 on the other side of the ball, in all likelihood, And, the Lions aren’t done adding recruits in this cycle just yet.
“It’s been a great class,” associate head coach, defensive recruiting coordinator, and corners coach Terry Smith said Thursday. “It’s been a great year. We anticipate, I don’t know, four or six more spots. College football is changing every single day, every second, every hour; who knows how this transfer portal will hit us coming in the next few weeks.
“Hopefully it doesn’t. But, we all know something will happen. We’ll be ready for it. The recruiting department has done a tremendous job to hold this class together and keep everybody here. We’re just striving to keep a great class together. And, support the previous class, and just keep going and stack good classes, and hopefully become championship caliber very quickly.”
Penn State will also have to fend off other programs who continue communicating with some of its verbal commitments. And, it will see how coaching changes and win/loss records elsewhere impact its ability to possibly flip recruits before the early signing day, which is just 56 days away on Dec. 21, 2022.
“The priority for us is solidifying this class,” Smith said. “This is the time of year things happen. Things go up, things go down. Prospects are constantly being communicated with from other schools. So this class of ’23 is our priority. We’re still recruiting to the ’24s and ’25s. But, if two things have to run together, the ’23s will get the priority, because they’re the immediate class that’s up. W
“We have a great recruiting staff. And, our coaches are fully committed to just making sure we get the right guys that come to Penn State and continue to build our locker room and the depth at each position.”
Recruiting impact of Penn State-Ohio State and also the White Out game
Smith was also asked to address how the White Out game impacted Penn State. The Lions had more than 100 recruits on hand to take in a 45-17 win over Minnesota.
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“The impact is tremendous,” Smith said. “Obviously, there was close to 110,000 fans at the game last week. We had roughly 150 recruits come through our recruiting lounge last week, which is a high number. Of that 150 guys, there is probably 100 that had offers from us. It was a tremendous weekend for us and gave us a lot of energy and momentum, whether it was commits, or ’23s we’re still looking at, and probably a great jump start to ’24 and ’25 that are out there.”
A similarly large recruiting crowd is anticipated this Saturday for Penn State-Ohio State. The Noon start could impact the numbers, of course. But, the Lions plan to maximize their time with the prospects that due make it to town for the top-15 matchup.
“This week, we anticipate close to the same number coming through the recruiting lounge,” Smith said. “These are big weeks, big games. Last week was a night game, so you had the all-day energy that is generated.
“This weekend is Noon, which is a little bit different for a game like this for us here, but we’ve played several games at Noon this year, so our guys are anxious and ready to get after it. It gives us the opportunity to wake up and go play.”
