Penn State settles at No. 8 after three July recruiting additions

Penn State football hoped to produce fireworks in July on the recruiting trail. With three new commitments this month, the Nittany Lions did exactly that.

As July comes to a close, Penn State’s Class of 2024 currently consists of 24 pledges. The haul, now made up of 15 four-star prospects and nine three-star prospects, puts the Nittany Lions at No. 8 in the updated On3 Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings.

Looking up at the rest of the top 10 in the current rankings, Penn State trails a top five of Georgia, Ohio State, Florida, Alabama, and Florida State. Michigan and Clemson remain ahead of the Nittany Lions at Nos. 6 and 7. Meanwhile, Tennessee and Southern Cal round out the top 10 at Nos. 9 and 10, respectively.

Penn State’s team score is now 91.280 with a per-recruit average of 89.86.

Explaining the On3 Industry Team Rankings

Standing apart from its peers in the recruiting industry, the On3 Industry Team Rankings work to address different class sizes throughout the college football landscape at varying points in the cycle. Now boasting 24 commitments, even Penn State isn’t at the top nationally for total class size. That honor currently goes to Army and Air Force with 37 and 35 commits each, respectively.

Stanford (28), Georgia (26), Michigan (26), North Carolina (25), Georgia Tech (25), and Navy (25) also all feature more pledges than Penn State.

On3 Industry Team Football Recruiting Rankings attempts to take those varied class sizes into play in its algorithm. Along with the combined rankings for individual players and teams of the major recruiting sites, those being weighted between On3, 247Sports, Rivals, and ESPN, the On3 Consensus Team Ranking also compiles the highest-rated commitments by each school to create a rolling average among Power Five programs.

Setting a rolling class size benchmark, that number is currently at 15, meaning quite a few players are not considered when formulating the team score and subsequent rankings nationally.

Additionally, the On3 Consensus Team Rankings eliminate bonus points for having more commitments than other programs. As a result, it whittles away at the built-in advantages of significantly larger class sizes. The model doesn’t disproportionately put weight on a program’s handful of top commitments. Instead, it more appropriately represents the overall talent and depth of the class.

Sizing up Penn State football’s July recruiting haul

After a busy June featuring seven verbal commitments, the NIttany Lions had no Fourth of July follow-up on the trail. Instead, the first pledge came four days later as four-star edge Mylachi Williams made the call to play for Penn State on July 8.

Williams isn’t presently among the top commitments in the class according to the On3 Industry Rankings, but On3’s internal evaluation is quite high for the prospect.

“When I look at a guy like Mylachi Williams, who has phenomenal film, is extremely explosive and productive, and has a frame to continue developing, we’re going to bet on that upside,” Charles Power told BWI. “He’s still pretty thin right now, but he has those long arms, those big hands and just has a lot of room to gain weight. He has everything you’re looking for when it comes to someone who can develop into a top pass rusher.”

Penn State then climbed as high as No. 6 in the team rankings with commitments on July 21 and 22. First, four-star athlete Liam Andrews selected the Nittany Lions. He’s ranked No. 61 overall by On3 and No. 3 as an athlete.

“He’s got the potential to be the best all-around player of this group who excels as a pass rusher and as a run defender,” said T. Frank Carr. “He can play as a 300-pound three-technique that can wreak havoc from an ideal position in the defense.”

Finally, T.A. Cunningham joined the fold. He’s ranked No. 257 nationally.

“Cunningham is a big, potential-laden one-technique body type that won’t fit well at any other position,” Carr said. “There’s a risk taking a player with a narrow set of skills, but Cunningham shows a complete set of strengths for the nose tackle job description.”