Penn State QB Marcus Stokes opens up about his commitment
Penn State quarterback commit Marcus Stokes began this week with plans to check out some of his top options for college. He ended it picking the school that many thought he would end up at for a few months now.
On Monday, Stokes, who plays for Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., began his trip traveling to Ole Miss. He then traveled north to see Indiana, April 5, before making his way east to Cincinnati the following day.
By then, he was already seriously thinking about what Penn State fans learned on Friday. He wanted to be a Nittany Lion.
“Oh man, I was thinking about this throughout my entire trip,” Stokes said. “I enjoyed seeing those other schools, but I knew when I got up to Penn State I had to really think about this. I knew this was the right fit for me.”
Stokes arrived at Penn State Thursday. Although his visit was mainly set to take place Friday, he grabbed dinner with offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich Thursday evening. That’s when he first let the staff know what he was thinking.
“I wanted to go through the [offensive coordinator] first before telling Coach [James] Franklin. Didn’t want to make a fool of myself,” Stokes said. “I wanted to make sure this was for real. So, I went out to dinner with Coach Yurcich [Thursday night] and I just laid it all out for him. I told him then that I knew this was what I wanted to do and he honored it. After that talk, we were all hyped in the restaurant. It was a great talk.
“He told me then that they’ll bring me up to Coach Franklin [Friday]. Coach Franklin was ecstatic. The whole room was ecstatic. It was a great feeling.”
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Despite earning more scholarships since Penn State offered at the end of January – Indiana, Pitt, Utah and Virginia Tech were the Power Five schools to offer – Stokes felt like he just “couldn’t wait much longer.”
“The second I walked into the building, it just felt right. It felt like home,” Stokes said. “I thought it was just the right fit for me. I love the way they run their offense. Coach Yurcich is a great guy, Coach Franklin is a great guy, Coach [Danny] O’Brien is great, too. Everyone I met up there, they’re all great people and I felt that when I came the first time and I felt it again this time, too. That’s why I chose to commit.”
Stokes said that he had a few conversations with Penn State’s committed players leading up to this decision, but Friday was his first opportunity to really get to know one of them in offensive lineman Josh Miller, who was also on campus.
“I hung out with Josh a lot. We’re still getting to know each other, but I think we’re going to build a great relationship,” he said. “Before I committed, he actually came to dinner with us. He was saying, ‘Hey, I’m trying to block for you. What’s the move?’ I just gave him that look, letting him know I was serious about this.”
Stokes is ranked No. 463 nationally according to the On3 Consensus. He’s the 24th-ranked ranked quarterback. The Nittany Lions now have nine commitments in their Class of 2023. They ranked fifth nationally in the On3 Consensus Team Rankings, second in the Big Ten behind Ohio State.
