Watch Penn State OL commits compete at Lion Strong Big Man Challenge
Penn State welcomed 50-plus high schools to participate in not only its Lion Strong 7-on-7 tournament last Friday, but also a Big Man Challenge for many of the region’s top lineman. James Franklin and his staff also hosted a mini-camp that afternoon, allowing three quality offensive lineman to participate in the drills.
Out of that group, two are already committed to Penn State in four-star prospet Alex Birchmeier and three-star Anthony Donkoh. The two Virginia natives drove up together to get work in with their future position coach, Phil Trautwein. The third was Florida native Jake Guarnera from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Guarnera and his mother saw nine different schools throughout June. It just happened to workout that he’d be in the area the same day as the event. He, too, holds an offer from Penn State.
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Out of the schools who partcipated in the Big Man Challenge and 7-on-7 tournament, there were a few notable top programs in DeMatha, Good Counsel and Austintown Fitch. Penn State fans should be familiar with DeMatha and Good Counsel by now. The Washington, D.C.-based powerhouses have sent many players to State College over the years. Their top participants in this event were 2024 defensive lineman Emmett Laws, from DeMatha, and 2024 offensive lineman Kyle Altuner, from Good Counsel. Both Laws and Altuner already hold offers from the Nittany Lions.
Two other notable defensive lineman that caught our eye were Austintown Fitch teammates Brian Robinson and Xavier Dahn. Robinson has already been recognized as one of the top defensive end prospects in the country for 2024. His offer list is up to 24 schools and counting, including Penn State. He was also just invited to the Under Armour All-America Bowl. Dahn currently holds just one offer from Toledo, but the rising-junior will be a player to keep an eye on this year. He recently transferred from Ursuline High School to Austintown Fitch.
