Penn State misses out on four-star cornerback Brandon Finney, who picks Oregon
Penn State football has missed out on a priority target from a familiar high school. Owing Mills, Md., McDonogh four-star cornerback Brandon Finney will play in the Big Ten. But, the top-200 Class of 2025 recruit will do so at a conference newcomer instead of the Nittany Lions as many McDonogh players have before him. Finney is headed to Oregon instead, he announced Tuesday night. It’s a big win for the Ducks, who just hosted him for an official visit. It’s also a big loss for the Nittany Lions, who held a slight On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine lead throughout the process. South Carolina and Ohio State were also in the mix.
“Before Oregon, I was kind of set on Penn State,” Finney told On3. “During the visit, through meetings with Coach Tosh (Lupoi) and Coach (Chris) Hampton and Coach (Cody) Wadood, seeing how they would use me, how they don’t have too many people at corner and then with Coach (Kyle) Bolton, meeting him kinda influenced the decision.”
Finney’s first official visit of the summer was to Penn State. He then saw the Gamecocks, Buckeyes, and Ducks in that order before deciding. He said in late May that the Nittany Lions were at the top but that McDonogh’s longtime success with the program would not be an end-all, be-all in his decision making process.
“I can see how people would say that he’s at McDonogh so he’s going to Penn State, how that could influence my decision,” Finney told BWI. “But I try not to let it. I’m just trying to find the place that’s best for me. If it’s Penn State, then it is. The same values that people from McDonogh value is what Penn State values.”
Penn State will look for better news out of McDonogh this week
Finney is not the only high level McDonogh prospect in this cycle. His teammate, receiver Jeff Exinor, is also on the cusp of picking a school. The On3 Industry Ranking four-star will pick between the Nittany Lions, Maryland, and Virginia Tech on Friday night at 7 p.m. ET. Penn State has an enormous lead in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine. It’s powered by a pick from BWI publisher Sean Fitz.
“I loved just how honest everybody was with me,” Exinor said following his official visit to campus earlier this month. “There was absolutely zero sugar coating and everything was just so genuine. My host was Mason Robinson and we are boys. We went to the same high school so it was great to catch up. He just talked about how normal student life is there. Like normally it is packed, but they were in between sessions, so it was a little bare. Although it’s a big school everything is close and convenient.”
Stay tuned to Blue-White Illustrated for more on Exinor’s pending announcement.
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