Penn State boasts No. 1 football class in country

When the Associated Press and Coaches polls were released this week, Penn State found itself at No. 4 in both rankings.

And while Penn State’s ascent to what it hopes to be No. 1 is ongoing, its 2022 recruiting class is already there.

The top spot in the recruiting rankings isn’t held by Alabama, Georgia or Clemson. Notre Dame, Ohio State or Texas can’t claim it, either. According to the recruiting website 247Sports, Penn State boasts the No. 1 class in the country. Combine that with the success Penn State has had on the field this season, and it’s especially happy in Happy Valley these days.

In those 247Sports rankings, Penn State is followed in the top 10 by Notre Dame, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Oregon, Ohio State, LSU, Texas A&M and Florida

State. West Virginia is No. 24 and Pitt is No. 60.

Penn State, which had the No. 21 class in 2021 and No. 15 in 2020, is getting commitments from good players, but also helping the Nittany Lions in the recruiting rankings is the fact that they have more commitments in the class than any school in the country. Their 26 commits (14 are four stars and 12 three stars) are four more than any other FBS school. Each recruit is assigned a point value based on their individual ranking (for example, Penn State’s top recruit, Dani Dennis-Sutton, is given a value of 27.84 points), and those numbers are added up to formulate the team score. Penn State’s is 275.03. Notre Dame’s is 267.86, but the Fighting Irish have only 21 commitments.

The 2022 recruiting class Penn State coach James Franklin and his staff have put together includes four players ranked among the top 100 players in the country. Dennis- Sutton, a defensive lineman from McDonough School, Md., leads the way at No. 47. Joining him are Westerville South, Ohio, wide receiver Kaden Saunders (58); Governor Mifflin running back Nicholas Singleton (76); and Medina, Ohio, quarterback Drew Allar (92).

Penn State’s class includes several players from Pennsylvania, but only one with WPIAL ties. Offensive tackle JB Nelson is a Mt. Lebanon graduate currently playing at Lackawanna College in Scranton. Perry defensive end Tyreese Fearbry originally committed to Penn State, but changed his mind and now plans on attending Kentucky.

It’s in the class of 2023 where Penn State has already gotten a commitment from one local player and is in hot pursuit of two others.

Chartiers Valley cornerback Lamont Payne committed to Penn State while attending the White Out game against Auburn on Sept. 18. Payne attended last Saturday’s Penn State-Indiana game, as did fellow juniors Rodney Gallagher of Laurel Highlands and Ta’Mere Robinson of Brashear.

Back to the class of 2022 … West Virginia has received commitments from 17 players and has an overall score of 198.80. Its highest-rated recruit is Jacolby Spells, a cornerback from American Heritage, Fla., who is No. 251 nationally.

Meanwhile, Pitt has received commitments from 11 players for a score of 144.01. Its top recruit thus far is Eastlake North, Ohio, offensive tackle Ryan Baer, ranked No. 343 nationally. The class includes one local player, Central Valley defensive lineman Sean FitzSimmons.

Taylor gets first offer

One of the top athletes in the WPIAL received his first Division I offer last week. North Allegheny’s Dwayne Taylor picked up a football offer from Duquesne. Taylor is a 6-foot-5, 205-pound senior who likely projects to be a wide receiver or tight end in college. Taylor is big, has good speed, and can jump like few others in the WPIAL. He won the triple jump and placed third in the long jump this spring at the WPIAL Class 3A track and field championships.

Originally from Bakersfield, Calif., Taylor is cousins with North Allegheny teammate Jacob Porter and Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

FBS offer for Whitlock

Belle Vernon football star Devin Whitlock is still waiting for his first FBS scholarship offer, but he did grab his first FBS preferred walk-on offer last week. Whitlock earned a PWO from West Virginia. A day earlier, The Citadel became the second FCS school to offer Whitlock. He also has one from Youngstown State.

Baseball commitment

Highlands’ Seth Helgert (Pitt-Johnstown).

Basketball commitments

Seneca Valley’s Olivia West (Columbus State); Upper St. Clair’s Molly James (Brandeis).

Football commitment

Belle Vernon’s Jack Bryer (Case Western Reserve).

Soccer commitment

Quaker Valley’s Ryan Edwards ( Florida Gulf Coast).