Video Breakdown: Penn State adds potential with Omari Gaines
Penn State football secured another commitment, this time in the Class of 2025. Cornerback Omari Gaines out of New Jersey committed to the Nittany Lions on Tuesday morning and is the second commitment of the week for head coach James Franklin and his staff. To understand what Gaines brings to the table, recruiting insider Sean Fitz and film analyst Thomas Frank Carr discuss what they know about Gaines and his fit with the Nittany Lions.
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Penn State lands project player in Omari Gaines
Gaines’ commitment to Penn State has been brewing for a few months, according to Fitz,
“Yeah, I think this one was in the staff’s court. We came out of that weekend in late January where Jalen Matthews committed, I believe, Anthony Speca a committed. The third guy that we pointed to that weekend was Omari Gaines. And it was just a matter of there’s a lot of unknown about Gaines right now.”
The biggest unknown about Gaines is his speed. Does he have the skills to stick at cornerback for Penn State? The nearly 6-3 cornerback has the size and length that positional coach Terry Smith desires, but his foot speed is lacking. But there’s a chance that he can develop those skills according to Fitz,
“it can happen. Joey [Porter Jr.]ended up in the 4.40’s when he got to Penn State. So when you’re on that growth, you know that growth incline, you’ll have to catch up from a speed part. You’ve got the potential to catch up faster when you grow so quickly like you’re going to be a baby giraffe walking around for a little while.”
Positional versatility is key
For T-Frank the positional versatility in his size is the reason that Penn State is smart to take Gaines, given his physical profile.
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” I think that to me when we come back to Penn State’s taking a 2025 cornerback prospect who has great length, but it’s that frame and the positional versatility,” T-Frank said.
“You see that we already talked about him as a corner. I can see him at either safety position, depending on how he physically develops, and you [Fitz] were even talking maybe linebacker if he really fills out.
So there are can’t-miss players in terms of guys that you have to take because you’re fairly certain going to be great.
And then there are guys that I think of as won’t-miss players. These guys will fill some good role on your team. And with a frame like that, it feels like that’s where Gaines can fit into the class right now.”
