Recapping Penn State Class of 2023 at halfway point: BWI Daily
This week, Penn State football hit the halfway mark with the Class of 2023 when four-star receiver Ejani Shakir committed to the program. With Shakir on board, the Nittany Lions now have 12 members in the class heading into the critical official visit portion of the recruiting calendar. So today on the BWI Daily Edition, host Thomas Frank Carr and recruiting insider Ryan Snyder discuss Shakir’s commitment and then recap the class before the summer months.
Nittany Lions lands Ejani Shakir
T-Frank and Snyder start by discussing Shakir’s decision to join Penn State. Snyder recaps the four-star receiver’s journey and explains where he fits on Penn State’s priority list this year. Next, he and T-Frank discuss what high school Shakir transferred to this winter and how that can help his relationship with the program. Next, T-Frank assesses Shakir’s skills from his film evaluation. Finally, they discuss where Shakir fits in the offense and then have a discussion about the evolution of the receiver position in football.
Penn State commit Ejani Shakir Film Study
Afterward, they recap the rest of the class. Snyder and T-Frank start on offense and discuss which positions are now closed for Penn State and which ones still have work to do. T-Frank spends some extra time and attention on the offensive line group, which is the strength of the class.
Finally, they discuss the defense, which has fewer commitments. Instead, they focus on names to know at positions with no commitments so that fans can keep an eye out for news.
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Counting Penn State’s biggest wins, losses in transfer portal era
The era of instant eligibility and the ubiquity of the NCAA transfer portal has not been lost on Penn State football. A closer examination of the portal and its impact on the Nittany Lions has made as much clear.
But in practical terms, which moves, in either direction, have been the most significant for Penn State?
Since the NCAA transfer portal became official in October 2018, the vast movement for the Nittany Lions has been outgoing. In the most recent cycle, Penn State has seen 12 scholarship players exit with only three coming into the program.
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In the three cycles prior to this one, Penn State has seen another 36 scholarship players depart for other programs. Complicated significantly by the bonus year of eligibility for participants of the 2020 season, the picture for the Nittany Lions is fairly straightforward.
Used as an opportunity to bring in immediate help through a selective approach, much more often than not, the portal also acts as an opportunity for underperforming or underutilized players to seek more significant roles elsewhere.
So, in spite of the relatively limited sample size of transfer portal additions since its inception – by our count, 10 players total including this year’s group – we’re still able to gauge the most impactful moves of the new era for Penn State football.
Here’s a look at the Nittany Lions’ top three biggest setbacks in the transfer portal and its biggest wins.
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