Penn State Roster Outlook: Important positions to target in Class of 2023

Penn State is off to a hot start with The Class of 2023, coming in seventh in On3’s team rankings at the moment. But putting together a class is about more than just finding the best talent, though that is the majority of it. The Nittany Lion coaching staff must balance their work in the transfer portal and manage positional needs at two ends of the scholarship chart. To figure out where those holes might develop in the future, I took a look at Dave Eckert’s scholarship distribution chart earlier this week. 

If you saw Dave’s article or just checked it out now, you’ll see that there are a lot of holes in the upper classes for Penn State. These roster holes are the most significant effect the transfer portal has on football rosters. The players that get playing time stick around, and the rest look elsewhere for a path to the field.  

Those spots open spots are filled via the portal. Or at least teams try to fill them that way. Looking at the Class of 2023, we want to look at the underclassmen and see where the holes might develop in the future. With that in mind, here are the three positions that Penn State needs to land this season. 

Penn State Positional Need: Corner

Penn State has had an excellent run at corner recently and fixed some of the issues for this year by bringing in former South Carolina corner Johnny Dixon last offseason. But as it stands right now, cornerback coach Terry Smith is one of the few Penn State coaches with a veteran room. Four players are either seniors or redshirt juniors on our list. Standout freshman Kalen King burned his redshirt last season and is the only sophomore listed on the roster. 

The young depth at the position includes 6-2 Zakee Wheatley, athlete Jeffrey Davis Jr., and freshman Cam Miller, who won’t arrive on campus until this summer. 

Cornerback is a volume position in football where upwards of three players should be considered starters. Penn State needs to add at least one more corner with talent but little proven depth in this class. The issue was exacerbated in the Class of ’22, with four-star corner Jordan Allen de-committing late in the process. 

Potential Targets

It’s not a surprise then that Penn State started the Class of 2023 with a three-star corner from Pittsburgh, Lamont Payne. But, despite that, at least one more corner is necessary this year. Two would be better. Blair Academy athlete Moussa Kane said that he would like to play corner at Penn State if he committed and would be the odds-on favorite to fill out that spot.  

Penn State Positional Need: Tackle

You’ll never get away from needing volume on the offensive line, especially if you consider all five positions as one group. Last week, we looked at the difference between tackles and interior linemen and explained the critical difference between the two. Unfortunately, Penn State has a log-jam of tackles that are redshirt sophomores this year. So while Olu Fashanu is seemingly etched in as the starting left tackle, it’s make-or-break time for Jimmy Christ and Ibrahim Traore. 

Potential Targets

That makes a tackle in the Class of 2023 a necessity. Penn State had good but not great success in 2023, grabbing Drew Shelton and Maleek McNeil but missing out on high-profile targets like Aamil Wagner. According to recruiting insider Ryan Snyder, Gonzaga’s Evan Link is the favorite to land in Happy Valley, so he is a must-get for Penn State. 

Featured: The BWI Recruiting Podcast with Ryan Snyder and Greg Pickel

The good news is that Offensive line coach Phil Trautwein started ’23 on fire, landing the 2nd-ranked interior player in the nation Alex Birchmeier. The Ashburn, VA, native has superstar written all over his game. 

I hadn't checked up on Alex Birchmeier's progress since I did his film eval on his sophomore tape. My first words were "Oh my Lord". @RyanSnyderOn3 caught up with him earlier this week

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— T-Frank (@ThomasFrankCarr) January 21, 2022

Joshua Miller is also on board for 2023 as a powerful, mauling interior lineman. Depending on how 6-5, 257-pound athlete Mega Barnwell develops, Penn State might have already solved the problem. But Barnwell has his heart set on playing tight end, so at least one tackle is a must for now. 

Penn State Positional Need: Edge Rusher

Dani Dennis-Sutton could solve Penn State’s pass-rushing issues in both the short and long term. This fall, the On3 consensus five-star defensive end could be in the rotation, despite not enrolling until the summer. That speaks to his level of skill, but also Penn State’s need at the position. 

The two classes above have more questions than answers. Adisa Isaac has never played more than 150 snaps in a season but is the odds-on favorite to lead the Penn State pass rush next season, and Smith Vilbert has flashed potential but couldn’t force his way into a weak rotation last season. 

Only former linebacker Zuriah Fisher has established a presence of the sophomore class so far. Project defensive end Bryce Mostella is still under 230 pounds on the Penn State roster, and Amin Vanover seems stuck between tackle and edge at 283 pounds. 

Freshman Davon Townley has excellent potential after redshirting last season. The Nittany Lions have had a history of great pass rushers under head coach James Franklin. However, having only one or two candidates to fill that mantle is not enough. Another excellent pass rusher is necessary for this upcoming class. 

Potential Targets

Penn State is pushing for several prospects, including IMG’s Cam Lendhart and Dylan Gooden of Good Counsel in Maryland. 

Another name to watch would be Maryland native Nyckoles Harbor. If Harbor decides to play football and not opt for track, he’d be a massive get for Penn State. He might be a better tight end prospect than defensive end, but either way, his services would bolster the Nittany Lions considerably.