ALTOONA, Pa. -- Since the dead period was lifted June 1, Penn State and colleges around the country have been welcoming recruits to campus with open arms.
The Nittany Lions have hosted camps for their highly touted prospects and have hosted a number of athletes already committed to Penn State's 2022 class. Those visits and camps are the first time Penn State coaches have been able to see these players in person, on and off the field.
Some of the already committed Nittany Lions took part in the program's elite camps the first weekend of June, while others simply took their official visits. Those who participated in the camps were able to show what's made them prospects.
One of those prospects is quarterback commit Drew Allar, who was recruited by new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. Allar was a Yurcich target at Texas and immediately was pursued once Yurcich came to Penn State.
While at camp, Allar was able to get reps with fellow commits Kaden Saunders and Mekhi Flowers, which bodes well for chemistry in the future. Allar isn't the only quarterback commit of the 2022 cycle; Beau Pribula of Central York has been committed since August of 2020.
James Franklin hosted 13 official visits this weekend in hopes of adding to a 2021 class ranked No. 7 nationally by 247Sports.
The Nittany Lions hosted running back Nicholas Singleton, the No. 3 ranked running back in this cycle, according to 247Sports. Singleton, currently a Penn State lean, also is being pursued by Wisconsin, Alabama and Notre Dame.
Penn State is involved in several blue-chip battles for talented players from across the country. One is Dani Dennis-Sutton, who includes Alabama and Georgia in his top three schools. Another is defensive back Jaeden Gould, also a Penn State lean who still is considering USC and Rutgers.
Gould wasn't the only defensive back at Penn State this weekend; four-star recruits Jayden Bellamy and Keenan Nelson and three-star Kevin Nelson also were in town.
The defensive side of the staff was busy with four-star defensive lineman Alex VanSumeran and linebacker Wesley Bisanthe on campus, as was three-star linebacker Joshua Josephs.
A weekend with many high-level recruits on campus is a big deal for a place like Penn State because it allows the Nittany Lions to show off their bells and whistles, on campus and in the football facilities. Players were shown around campus and watched highlight films at Beaver Stadium.
With recruits finally able to officially visit schools, Penn State is wasting no time in getting them on campus to build its 2022 class. It's critical for recruiting to get guys on campus, and that's especially true for the Nittany Lions because University Park is hard to reach, without a major airport nearby.
That location has made the past year-plus difficult, with players unable to officially come to campus due to the extended dead period. Once those players are there, though, it's a game-changer for Franklin and his staff, as they attempt to work their magic to get those recruits to commit.
The current class is much better than the previous cycle, although it still is fairly early in the process. A big plus for the Nittany Lions is that the guys in the current class are shutting down their recruitment by other schools. This is important because those commits can now focus on their senior seasons in high school and help to recruit some of the guys who are undecided about playing at Penn State.
Franklin and Co. will be continuing their aggressive approach to getting recruits to campus and enticing them to attend school at University Park. Whether it continues to pay off remains to be seen.
