Penn State to host international group Monday; former SEC, Marshall staffer added to recruiting department
Penn State football is set to host a number of prospects for spring practice number four on Monday.
Part of the group on hand is from Europe.
NFL Academy is a UK-based program that aims to promote the sport of football overseas. Participants in it were on hand at the Under Armour regional recruiting camp in Towson, Md., on Sunday. Now, the prospects are all headed to see the Nittany Lions practice.
“The NFL Academy offers student athletes aged 16-19 the opportunity to combine their education with a life skills programme and an intensive training in the sport, under the guidance of full-time professional coaches,” the NFL Academy website says.
“Education is the main priority and, in partnership with Barnet and Southgate College in North London, the Academy aims to create pathways into further education, employment and potentially an opportunity to study and play NCAA college football in the United States.”
The list of players who will be in State College to visit includes linebacker Kofi Taylor-Barrocks, who already has offers from Michigan State and Nevada, offensive lineman Daniel Akinkunmi, and tight end Peter Clarke. All are Class of 2023 recruits.
“It’s a way for us to have a clear pathway to go from a high school structured football academy program all the way to Division I and hopefully the NFL,” Akinkunmi told BWI. “It’s a nice way just to be able to have that pathway.”
Penn State will also host four-star Murfreesboro, Tenn., receiver Justin Brown today. He, too, is a Class of 2023 prospect.
Penn State adds recruiting department staffer
Penn State has hired Catherine Kennedy as its new recruiting coordinator for operations and visits.
Kennedy was most recently the on-campus director at Marshall. She’s sure to come highly recommended, as her time there was all under former Lions assistant and current Thundering Herd head coach Charles Huff. They also were on the same staff together at Alabama.
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Destiny Rodriguez was formerly the Penn State recruiting coordinator for operations and visits. She remains with the program but has moved into the newly-created Director of External Operations role. Rodriguez will organize travel for the Lions. She will also assist head coach James Franklin with various needs, and be the liaison between the football program and numerous university departments.
As for Kennedy, she will be the point person organizing all aspects of prospects’ visits to campus. The Alabama alum got her start in the industry with the Crimson Tide as a student. She then moved on to Marshall after interning in Tuscaloosa.
Penn State has been actively adding staffers this offseason. It’s all part of Franklin’s push to compete in all areas of the sport 24/7, 365 days a year.
“We have made some strides there, but I think it maybe appears a little bit magnified based on replacing some people that left, as well,” Franklin said.
“We had some GAs move on for full-time positions, we had some analysts move on for full-time positions and coordinator positions, so it’s a combination of both.”
