ALTOONA, Pa. -- Penn State picked up a big commitment Saturday afternoon in 4-star offensive tackle Jven Williams, rated as the No. 1 prospect in Pennsylvania for the 2023 class by 247Sports.
Williams is a 6-foot-4, 285-pounder from Wyomissing High School in Reading. He chose Penn State over the likes of Pitt, Michigan, Michigan State, USC and South Carolina. He's rated the No. 6 offensive tackle in the nation and the No. 68 prospect overall in the country.
Home📍@coachjfranklin @CoachTrautFB @CoachSteveONeil @RossTuckerNFL @MDrago59 @PaulRobertsCuse @GarageStrength pic.twitter.com/N0Pw4Eu7i0
— Jven Williams (@williams_jven) February 5, 2022
Only two of the top 10 prospects in Pennsylvania for 2023 have committed, and both have verballed to Penn State. Along with Williams, 3-star cornerback Lamont Payne from Chartiers Valley High School in Bridgeville has committed to the Nittany Lions. Payne is ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the state.
Penn State now has eight commitments for the class of 2023 and ranks No. 4 in the country for the cycle by 247Sports. Here's a look at all eight commits so far, and note that four of them are offensive linemen, which is tremendous news considering just how much the Lions have struggled up front.
* 5-star OL Alex Birchmeier (6-6, 275) from Broad Run HS in Ashburn Va., the No. 1 prospect in Virginia and No. 16 in the nation
* 4-star OT Jven Williams (6-4, 285) from Wyommising HS in Reading, the No. 1 prospect in Pennsylvania
* 4-star DE Neeo Avery (6-5, 230) from Our Lady Good Counsel in Olney Md.
* 4-star athlete Mega Barnwell (6-6, 250) from Riverbend HS in Fredericksburg, Va.
* 3-star CB Lamont Payne (6-1, 170) from Chartiers Valley HS in Bridgeville, Pa.
* 3-star OL Joshua Miller (6-5, 320) from Life Christian Academy in Colonial Heights, Va.
* 3-star TE Joey Schlaffer (6-6, 205) from Exeter Township HS in Reading
* 3-star OT Anthony Donkoh (6-5, 310) from Lightridge HS in Aldie, Va.
GIGER'S TAKE
Penn State is certainly off to an excellent start for the recruiting cycle, coming on the heels of last year's No. 6 national ranking.
It's still early, but the Lions have the top recruiting class in the Big Ten so far and trail only Georgia, Notre Dame and Arkansas in the national rankings by 247Sports.
You really can't say enough about the job James Franklin and his staff have done in recruiting over the past two years. The Lions have gone 4-5 and 7-6 the past two seasons, yet continue to attract a lot of talented players who haven't been scared off by the struggles on the field.
I'll have a column next week on just how impressive it's been that Penn State has remained strong both in recruiting and in keeping its top players out of the transfer portal, again despite the issues that we've seen on the field the past two seasons.
