Penn State lands Florida quarterback Marcus Stokes
Penn State has found its quarterback for the Class of 2023.
On Friday afternoon, three-star quarterback Marcus Stokes announced that he’d be committing to the Nittany Lions. A native of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Stokes emerged on the staff’s radar back in early January following a strong performance at the All-American Combine in San Antonio.
After checking out his film from that event, offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Mike Yurcich flew to Florida about a week later to get an up-close look at Stokes. Since it was the contact period, Yurcich was allowed to watch one of Stokes’ workouts. Between that and meetings with his coach, he liked what he saw.
Penn State immediately invited him to campus for a visit, which took place Jan. 29. That’s when earned an offer.
Related: Penn State football’s April 8-9 visitor list
“We were with Coach [James] Franklin, Coach Yurcich, Coach [Danny] O’Brien, Coach [Chris Mahon],” Stokes said, referring to when he learned about the offer. “Coach Franklin was just explaining that they’ve really enjoyed getting to know me, that they think I’m a great fit. During that, my dad looked over at me and we kind of knew what was coming. Coach Franklin continued then, just saying that he believes in me and that he wants to offer me.
“I looked over then at my dad and he had tears in his eyes. Honestly, I started tearing up, too. I knew that was just a massive moment in my recruitment and really my entire life. It was one of those experiences that you’ll never forget. Getting an offer from a school like Penn State is just an incredible feeling.”
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Penn State was the first Power Five program to offer Stokes. Within a matter of weeks, others followed. Indiana was the next school to offer on Feb. 12, followed by Virginia Tech, Pitt and Utah. Overall, he earned 13 scholarship offers. Schools like Florida, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame and Ole Miss were also showing serious interest.
Stokes is the ninth player to join Penn State’s Class of 2023. He’s expected to be the only quarterback in the class.
According to the On3 Consensus, Stokes is ranked No. 463 nationally. He’s the 24th-ranked quarterback and No. 85 in Florida. Our scouts at On3 rank him a bit higher than the rest of the industry, coming at No. 18 overall at quarterback.
