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Penn State HC James Franklin visits IMG Academy

Collin-headshotby: Collin Ginnan09/13/24
James Franklin IMG Academy
Courtesy IMG Academy (X)

Penn State head coach James Franklin and director of player personnel Kenny Sanders have taken to the recruiting trail with the Nittany Lions idle this weekend.

Franklin and Sanders visited IMG Academy (Fla.) on Thursday ahead of the Ascenders’ game against Mt. Zion Prep (Md.) — arriving by helicopter.

Elite IMG interior offensive lineman Michael Carroll is committed to Alabama, but his father played football for Penn State. Keeping with the ties to the Midwest, his mother was a Hall of Fame basketball player for Michigan State.

Penn State has also offered several 2026 prospects at IMG, according to BWI, including four-star IOL Breck Kolojay, top-100 EDGE Jake Kreul, four-star defensive lineman Preston Carey, four-star safety Amari Jones and four-star Georgia CB commit Dominick Kelly.

In the 2027 class, the Nittany Lions have offered tight end Judah Lancaster, linebacker Amarri Irvin, cornerback Censere Gaylord and safety Charles Roberts at IMG.

More on IMG Academy football

IMG Academy is the nation’s No. 13 high school football team and top in the state of Florida, per the On3 Massey Ratings. The Massey Ratings — which were officially used during the BCS era and have generated college high school sports team rankings since 1995 — rank sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory.

The Ascenders are 2-1 on the season. After dropping the season-opener to Corner Canyon (Utah), IMG has bounced back with wins over Bergen Catholic (N.J.) and Cocoa — the No. 5 program in Florida.

In addition to Michael Carroll, several blue-chip recruits litter the IMG Academy roster. SMU commit Ty Hawkins features at quarterback while the defense is led by top-100 linebacker Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Ohio State EDGE commit London Merritt.

Mt. Zion Prep — IMG’s Thursday night opponent — was the No. 42 team in the state of Maryland. The Ascenders defeated Mt. Zion in a 57-0 blowout.