Penn State makes big jump in On3 Team Rankings following CB Jon Mitchell's commitment
Penn State’s Class of 2024 is beginning to pick up some much-needed momentum. After earning an early commitment from offensive lineman Cooper Cousins over a year ago, the Nittany Lions didn’t add a second until linebacker Anthony Speca committed on Jan. 17. Now, in just over two months, the class is up to six players total, the latest being cornerback Jon Mitchell.
A native of Florida, it was no secret that Mitchell had built a close relationship with cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, but Saturday morning’s commitment still came as a surprise. The Mandarin High School prospect travelled to State College on Thursday with his teammate, Antoine Belgrave-Shorter, and high school position coach Cavonte Campbell. All three remain on campus, with that visit set to end Sunday morning.
This trip was supposed to set the table for an official visit in early June. Nonetheless, Mitchell’s decision is massive for Penn State’s Class of 2024.
Related: Eight things to know about new Penn State football commitment Jon Mitchell
Coming into today, the Nittany Lions sat just inside the top 20 in the On3 Industry Team Rankings. With just two four-star commitments from Cousins and Speca, plus three three-star players, Penn State lacked top 250 talent. Cousins is ranked just inside the top 200 at No. 195, while Speca sits at No. 372.
Now, Mitchell has surpassed Cousins as the top-ranked player in the class. That’s given the team ranking a much-needed boost, as the Lions jumped five spots to No. 14 nationally. Their overall score now is a 90.204.
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Mitchell ranks No. 145 in the On3 Industry Rankings, which is a combined rating between On3, 247, ESPN and Rivals. Our staff at On3 has him ranked the highest of any site so far, as Mitchell recently climbed from No. 217 all the way to No. 61 nationally when the On300 was last updated on March 1.
Related: Which recruits are expected to visit Penn State Saturday?
“Just going through this cornerback group, it’s a really interesting group nationally,” On3 Director of Scouting Charles Power said about Mitchell in March. “Many of them have length and the ball skills, but there’s not a ton of verified speed in that group. With Michell, we came away from watching his film and looking at his times thinking he’s one of the faster corners of this group and he still has the size as well. So, from a tools perspective, that sets him apart a bit at this point.
“We’re still obviously in the information-gathering phase on a lot of this. But we really liked his junior film as well. He plays pretty high-quality football at Mandarin. So, he’s one that we’ve liked for a long time, and as we continue to get some more background info on him, it’s been very encouraging. He’s got good genetics, too. He’s had multiple family members who were prospects and played Division I football. So, at this stage, he’s checking many boxes.”
