Penn State Saturday six-pack: Highlighting three intriguing official visitors plus more thoughts on the Lions

The first Saturday of May is here. For some, that means a full focus on the Run for the Roses. We’ll get to that later. First, we have a lot of Penn State news to cover.

Assistant coaches have now been out on the road recruiting for about two weeks as the spring evaluation period continues. And, back in State College, everyone in the Lasch Building has been working hard on locking in June official visit dates for top targets in the Class of 2023.

We’ll cover all that in more in our first weekend six-pack of the month.

1. Post-spring check in

How are we feeling, Penn State fans, now that we are two Saturdays removed from spring practice and the Blue-White game?

Two sets of media rankings coming out of drills across the country call the Lions a top-25 team, which feels fair. However, the strengths and weaknesses are well known at this point after 15 days on the field. There is plenty to be excited about but also fearful of heading into the summer.

Looking back over everything we saw, heard, and learned between mid-March and late April, my biggest takeaways are as follows:

• Yes, the Penn State offensive line numbers are concerning. But, despite many opinions to the contrary, there will be a two-deep and even a three-deep come the fall. Will it be as talented top to bottom as fans want it to be? No, and that’s of course a problem. But the starting five should be just fine come September.
• This team will go as far as its offense can take it. That’s not a slight on the defense, of course. It actually is shaping up to be pretty good under Manny Diaz. But, if that unit doesn’t get enough help from both the aerial attack and an improved ground game, it won’t matter.
• Special teams will need to be monitored closely early on. Stacy Collins has talent to work with, but there are simply so many questions to answer after a few years of knowing pretty much exactly what you were getting.

2. A final thought from the NFL Draft

Penn State had one of its most successful NFL Draft runs in years last weekend. Eight former players were picked over the course of seven rounds and four more were signed following the selection process.

When reviewing all of the fits and possibilities for this new rookie class of Nittany Lions, you could make a number of picks if asked to select the one who will have the most successful start to his career. However, I’m going to go with Arnold Ebiketie. He should be explosive from the first snap with the Atlanta Falcons, which made him a priority early in Round 2.

Ebiketie was great in his first and only season at Penn State. And, it felt like he might have been only scratching the surface of his immense potential. Expect to hear his name called often this fall.

3. Two intriguing official visitors on offense

BWI’s Ryan Snyder has been busy confirming June Penn State official visitors this week. The next two bullets in the six pack will focus on those.

You can see many of the confirmed names under our visitors tab. I’m going to pick a couple names that intrigue me most on each side of the ball.

Starting with the offense, the selection is an offensive tackle from outside of the typical Penn State recruiting regions.

The pick is Zech Owens. He’s coming to State College the weekend of June 17. A Georgia native, he catches my eye because, while Penn State already has four Class of 2023 offensive line commits, only one is guaranteed to be a tackle in Anthony Donkoh. At least one more if not two are needed.

Owens is an On3 Consensus four-star and has offers from all over and is clearly high on the Lions’ board. He ranks inside the top-200, to boot

Finally, it should be noted that Penn State will have two other four-star tackles, Evan Link and Kadyn Proctor, on campus this summer, as well. .

4. Two intriguing Penn State official visitor on defense

Now let’s address Manny Diaz’s side of the ball.

In fact, we’re not only going to do that but also focus on his specific position group.

The picks here for Penn State are four-star linebackers Tony Rojas, who is from Fairfax, Va., and Pittsburgh’s Ta’Mere Robinson. Both will here the weekend of June 17. Each has other trips planned, as well, so this will mark the Lions’ chance to wow them both before they are eventually compared against different schools.

Penn State is light on numbers at linebacker. And, it won’t be getting any better with Jonathan Sutherland leaving next year and possibly Curtis Jacobs, as well. Thus, landing both Rojas and Robinson feels like something of a must, and the visits will be key.

5. Sharing some thoughts on the Kentucky Derby

Who said we can’t stray from Penn State just for a moment to analyze the biggest horse race of the year?

The pick is No. 10 Zandon, who figures to be one of the post-time betting favorites when the gates open around 6:57 p.m. on NBC. Jockey Flavien Prat will get it done on the grandest stage of them all.

For exacta purposes, then, use No. 3 Epicenter, No. 12 Taibia, No. 6 Messier, and No. 8 Charge It. Throw in No. 16 Cyberknife and No. 15 White Abarrio in the tri and root on One More Time in the Derby City stakes.

Good luck to those playing, and always remember to wager responsibly.

6. Happy trails

We’ve made it to the end of another Saturday six pack. We’ll send you off with this bit of information: Only 16 Saturdays remain until Penn State-Purdue week is officially here.

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