Penn State Recruiting: Reviewing the Nittany Lions' recruiting efforts in 2021

Penn State had a very busy recruiting year, and that was especially true in the second half of 2021. With no on-campus visits allowed until June 1, the back half of the year was as busy as we’ve ever seen in college football recruiting. June was arguably the busiest month we’ve ever seen, with Penn State hosting at least one prospect all but two days between June 1-27. They hosted over 120 players overall that month just for unofficial/official visits.

Of course, it did pay off in the end. James Franklin and his Penn State staff signed a class of 24 recruits two weeks ago which ranks No. 7 according to the On3 Consensus. With two five-star players and 14 four-stars, it’ll rank among the best ever at Penn State.

So, what were some of the highlights? BWI’s Ryan Snyder and Greg Pickel give their thoughts in our year in review.

Best part of visits returning

Snyder: For Penn State, visits are crucial. As I’ve said many times in previous years, State College isn’t for everyone. Some love it, while others prefer a more urban setting, so just being able to show prospects what the campus and town have to offer was crucial.

From a professional perspective on my end, it was great getting the opportunity to see guys up close. We didn’t have access to Penn State’s camps this past year, so we were unable to watch them perform up close, but we were able to get photos of players as they arrived and left campus. It was nice to be able to introduce yourself and put faces to names after 16 months of texts/calls.

Pickel: From this point of view, it was actually being able to sort through a lot of the electronic noise and get a genuine sense for how prospects actually felt about campuses, schools, and coaches once they saw everything in person. Visits are always incredibly important.

Craziest recruitment to follow

Snyder: Andre Roye was certainly among the most difficult to follow. I think I spoke with him maybe three times total since the spring. But craziest can be defined in a few different ways, so I would probably lean towards Dani Dennis-Sutton. Penn State duking it out with Alabama and Georgia for an elite edge rusher grabbed everyone’s attention. Fans were incredibly excited about him in June and July. I couldn’t post enough updates on Dennis-Sutton. Even with six players committing in the three weeks leading up to Dennis-Sutton, he was the one that had everyone’s focus. 

Pickel: I don’t think there is any question that Roye is the easy pick here. To me, though, it’s Drew Allar, not because it was drama-filled, but because of his meteoric rise in the rankings.

Moment you knew Penn State’s class had top-10 potential 

Snyder: Even before visits started in June, Penn State held eight commitments going into April 2021, seven of whom held a four-star rating at the time. In fact, Allar was actually the one who didn’t. So, you knew then that Penn State had serious potential. Add in the fact that they appeared to be in a strong position with players like Nick Singleton and Dennis-Sutton, and that’s when I started thinking it was realistic. 

Pickel: For me, it was the moment we started to hear rumblings that Fourth of July weekend was going to be a big one. The Lions landed four commitments between July 2 and 4 and then capped it off with a slam dunk when Singleton picked the Lions on July 6.

Biggest Miss

Snyder: I think a lot of fans would probably say Enai White. Penn State has missed out on the top-ranked Pennsylvania prospect a few years now, and they need that trend to change in 2023. However, I also feel like getting Dennis-Sutton and Ken Talley kind of evens that out a bit. Both look like great prospects.

This one may be unfair because I never really felt like he was serious about Penn State, but Virginia wide receiver Andre Greene Jr. was one of the most impressive players I saw up close during camp season last spring. I think North Carolina got an incredibly special player with him.

Pickel: Penn State fans were bummed when Aamil Wagner started trending away from the Lions. Then he shocked everyone when the Ohio lineman ended up picking Notre Dame. He has all the makings of a multi-year starter in the trenches.

Biggest Get

Snyder: This has to be Allar, right? Quarterback is incredibly important and Penn State seems to get a five-star QB once each decade. If Allar is able to reach his potential, and the rest of the program is able to maintain or improve its level of talent, there’s no reason to believe that the Nittany Lions won’t be a consistent playoff program in the 12-team format. 

Pickel: I’ll go with Singleton. Many schools, including Alabama, Notre Dame and Texas A&M, pushed very hard for the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year. But in the end, the Lions sealed the deal.

Craziest stretch of the year

Snyder: You can pick either June or July here and be correct. I’ll go with June. After nearly 16 months of no on-campus recruiting, Penn State hosted somewhere north of 120 prospects for unofficial or official visits that month. They also hosted more than 1,300 high school players for seven different camps, plus a 7-on-7 tournament that saw 54 high schools attend. By my count, there were only two days between June 1-27 where at least one important prospect wasn’t on campus.

Pickel: July. We wrote enough words in that month for an entire calendar year. 11 prospects, which is just under half of the class, committed that month. We said all we can say about an incredibly impressive month.

Related: Mitchell Tinsley explains why Penn State football was right for him, when he’ll arrive, and more

Prospect you knew the best

Snyder: Hard to pick here. I feel like Dennis-Sutton, Allar, Singleton, Beau Pribula and Kaden Saunders all fit this category pretty well. If I had to narrow it down, I’d probably lean towards Pribula. I saw him play five times over the past two seasons, plus he attended all three major camps last spring (Rivals, Under Armour, Elite 11). With that said, I’ve known Saunders and his father, Anthony, for a long time as well. We’ve done so many interviews and talk regularly, so again, it’s hard for me to pick just one here. 

Pickel: Ryan was the one getting to know the guys in this year’s class. I’ll get to know the Class of 2023 better as time goes on.

One recruit we thought Penn State would get but didn’t, and one you didn’t think it would but did

Snyder: The two misses that instantly come to mind are Anto Saka and Moses Walker. Saka has a lot of characteristics that fit Penn State well. He ended up going to Northwestern, which is a great academic school. He should do well there, but I thought PSU led for the longest time. I also thought they’d be able to beat out Rutgers in the end for Walker. As for who they got, I’ll go with Zane Durant. Throughout most of his recruitment, it felt like most other Florida prospects; there’s interest, but is he really going to come north? It wasn’t until about a week or two before he decided that I realized he was very serious about Penn State. 

Pickel: At one point in time, it seemed like Cocalico lineman Ryan Brubaker would be a lock to the Lions, but they cooled down their push and he ended up at South Carolina. On the other hand, no one would have been surprised if Kaytron Allen ended up at one of the Florida schools, even if he’s from Norfolk, Va. But the Lions held on to earn his Letter of Intent earlier this month.

Which flip would Penn State really like to have back

Snyder: Penn State held commitments from Roye, Tyreese Fearbry, Holden Staes and Jordan Allen at different points over the past year. They moved on from Allen and Roye was always incredibly difficult to read. Fearbry was also a bit sporadic at times, so I’ll go with Staes. With that said, losing Tyler Bowen to the NFL was a major reason why he decommitted, so all four look somewhat reasonable from the outside looking in. 

Pickel: I lean towards Fearbry. He ultimately signed with Kentucky after a very short commitment to Penn State. The Pittsburgh native appears to have a bright future ahead of him as a defensive end.