Penn State to host top-10 Class of 2024 prospect this month; Lions practice notes: Newsstand
Happy Masters Thursday and MLB opening day, Penn State fans.
The newsstand for April 7 may be the only place in the sports universe that isn’t focused strictly on golf or baseball as April rolls along. However, as always, we have the latest news on Nittany Lions footbal.
Today’s rundown includes both recruiting notes and updates from the practice field as head coach James Franklin’s team wrapped up another day of drills on Wednesday night.
Let’s dive into Thursday’s top tweets and headlines.
Penn State tweets of the day
We start with recruiting.
Belle Vernon, Pa., Class of 2024 athlete Quinton Martin will visit Penn State for the Blue-White game on April 23.
Martin, who stands 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, is the No. 8 junior-to-be in the country according to the just-released On3 Consensus top-25 rankings. He is also listed as the top athlete and No. 1 player in Pennsylvania in his class.
Penn State currently holds a commanding lead in Martin’s On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine. He has visited no school more than he has the Nittany Lions and was last on campus in January.
In other news, Penn State opened yet another practice session to reporters on Wednesday night.
You can read full recaps from Nate Bauer and David Eckert below. But, we’ll also spotlight a couple of things here. The top takeaway came from Eckert, who noted that Franklin said that the Lions are still searching the transfer portal for a pass rusher. That should come as no great surprise after the success both Penn State and Arnold Ebiketie had last season, but it is still notable.
Top 10
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- 3Trending
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- 4
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“We need more consistent edge pressure,” Franklin said. “So, between developing the guys we have and then obviously we’re looking into the portal a little bit for that as well.
“Very similar to what we did with [Arnold Ebiketie], we got to find somebody that can come in and help us with edge pressure and affecting the quarterback.”
Here is some more info from practice:
Headlines of the day
Former Penn State defensive tackle announces retirement from NFL: Gallen, PennLive
PSU spring practice takeaways: Blue-White changes on tap?: Bauer, BWI
Take a Look: Lasch Building Renovations Continue for Penn State Football: Jones, Statecollege.com
James Franklin post-spring practice scrum: April 6: Bauer, BWI
Ryan Bates, a Penn State Success Story: Wogenrich, SI
PSU targeting pass rusher in transfer portal, James Franklin says: Eckert, BWI
Penn State football searching for ‘right fit’ in transfer portal to balance light spring roster: Engle, Daily Collegian
Penn State spring practice highlights for April 6: Carr, BWI
Quote of the day
“Two years ago. (Adisa) played at a really high level, so losing him last year was a significant loss for us. So having him back is exciting. Saleem was really slotted to be a starter for us when he got the injury. He was playing at a really high level.
“So having both of those guys back is great. The jog-through and walkthrough reps have been really good. We’ve been able to keep them involved mentally as much as possible. But we got to keep building with those two guys.”
