STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- It's been a quiet month on the recruiting trail for the most part and that's by design because of the NCAA dead period, but four-star cornerback Jordan Miner changed that Thursday evening.
Miner, who visited Penn State from his home in Tampa, Fla. in June, publicly gave James Franklin and staff his verbal pledge during a local newscast Thursday night. Miner is ranked as the 30th best cornerback in the nation per the 247Sports composite and is the 14th prospect in the Lions' 2018 class.
The Lions' 2018 class is ranked No. 5 in the nation by 247Sports and No. 2 in the Big Ten, behind Ohio State. Miner picked Penn State over his other finalists, which included Florida, North Carolina, Oregon, Maryland, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Auburn.
The announcement wasn't official until his television spot aired this evening, but if there's one thing about high school kids, regardless of their star rankings, it's that secrets rarely stay under wraps very long. Many of Miner's future teammates were tweeting about a surprise coming in their class, which led many to believe that likely the Lions would have a new addition by the start of the weekend. With Miner slated to announce the dots were connected.
Stay tuned?? https://t.co/ixIyD7HQMA
— Zack Kuntz (@zackkuntz_717) July 6, 2017
In fact, Miner's father told Landof10 that his son gave Franklin a verbal pledge back on June 26, but was waiting for the TV special to officially announce it to everyone else.
With Miner waiting in the wings, it gives the Lions the chance to have a versatile defensive back who can potentially contribute on special teams as well. He's the second cornerback in this class, joining Trent Gordon, who gave the Lions his verbal pledge back in March. Penn State also has a verbal pledge from safety Isaiah Humphries in this cycle.
However, as Penn State is finding out with this highly-touted class, there's still a ways to go until the ink is dry and these verbal pledges become binding. Look for Penn State to have several prospects and pledges on campus next weekend for the program's annual Lasch Bash, a recruiting event for select highly-touted prospects and their families.
Until then, here are the highlights from Miner's junior season at Wiregrass Ranch in Florida: