On3 scouting director Charles Power breaks down Nittany Lions' top signees

By Ryan Snyder

Penn State officially wraps up its Class of 2024 on Wednesday, with all 25 players expected to sign for head coach James Franklin and his staff. The Nittany Lions currently sit at No. 14 in On3’s Team Rankings, leaving just Ohio State (No. 2) and Oregon (No. 7) as the only Big Ten programs set to sign a better class.

Following On3’s most recent update to its rankings at the end of November, Scouting Director Charles Power provided his thoughts on six of the Top 10-ranked players in the class. We followed up with him earlier this week to get his thoughts on the other four.

Nittany Lions fans can recap it all below.

TE Luke Reynolds (No. 49 in On3 Industry Ranking)

Charles Power on 11/22: Luke Reynolds moves up into the top 50 at number 38 overall. I think he’s put himself in that top tier at tight end in 2024. It’s a strong group, too. I think he’s clearly one of the top three tight ends right now, along with Alabama commit Caleb Odom and LSU commit Trey’Dez Green. They all have different flavors, but to me, Luke Reynolds has a lot of really projectable skills when you’re looking at not only playing in college but also the NFL. He’s the type of tight end that the modern NFL really gravitates toward.

But Reynolds is a guy who has outstanding change of direction and really natural movement skills. I think he projects as a guy who can really work over the middle of the field at a highly effective rate, just given his wiggle, his ability to change directions and the shake at the top of his routes.

Ask Around: Who were the biggest commitments in Penn State’s Class of 2024?

We saw that in person at the Elite 11 Finals, but I think we’ve seen that even more as a senior. I think he’s a guy who kind of does it in every phase. He can win within the route. He is gritty after the catch at maximizing yardage. He’s a plus athlete as well and then he can go up and win in contested situations. He has very reliable hands.

So I think there’s just a wide variety of skill that Luke Reynolds brings to the table at the position. I think if you’re a Penn State fan, you should be really excited about landing him and Andrew Rappleyea back-to-back. I think those two guys have really advanced skill levels at the position. If you’re a Penn State fan, I’d be rooting for multiple tight end sets with those guys in the future because I think they can do a lot and add some differentiation to the offense.

RB Quinton Martin (No. 58)

Charles Power on 12/19: Quinton Martin is how I’d classify a true athlete. He’s a guy who I could see playing a number of positions at the next level. Of course, he’s been recruited as a running back by Penn State, but he’s played all over the field in his high school career. He first came on our radar as a sophomore and was a productive, efficient runner. I remember watching his basketball videos as well and it was clear he was a guy who’s just a really good high school athlete overall.

This season, and really his final two seasons of high school football, he was still a very efficient runner, averaging 10 yards a carry as a senior, but he’s also really productive as a receiver. He lined up in the backfield, split outside and he catches the ball really well.

From a build perspective, he’s certainly a taller running back, but there’s no doubt that he has a pretty unique skill set just in his versatility. I think, as a running back, his pass-catching ability is very good. He had 764 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns this year. That’s better than a lot of actual receiver prospects. So, I think he brings a lot of skills to the table. I think the biggest thing for him at the next level is just honing in on one position. If it’s running back, just settling in there and gaining experience, but I wouldn’t rule out him playing multiple spots at Penn State. He has the ability to do that.

QB Ethan Grunkemeyer (No. 109)

Charles Power on 11/22: Ethan Grunkemeyer got a bump from a 92 rating to a 93 in this most recent update. Just going through his senior year, I think he showed the improvement you would want to see from a guy who looked as good as he did during the offseason camp circuit.

I think he’s just a really fluid, natural passer. You don’t have to really squint to see the projectable arm talent from him on Friday nights and then see how that could cross over to college and potentially the NFL. He’s just an easy passer, and I think seeing the improvement in his production as a senior has been really encouraging. So, he gets a bump to a 93 and he’s now number 107 overall for us. I continue to really like him and how he stacks up within that quarterback group.

OL Cooper Cousins (No. 110)

Charles Power on 11/22: Cooper Cousins just continues to move up for us. I’m a big fan of the steadiness and the sturdiness that he brings to the interior offensive line. He has some of the best senior film along the interior that we’ve seen this year. If we’re looking at pure center prospects – if he’s still considered a center by Penn State – he’s probably the best center prospect in the cycle. I say that because he also has the position versatility, including the size, to play multiple spots along the offensive line. He’s been a steady stock-up guy as a senior. I’m really looking forward to seeing him in person at the All-American Bowl to get a better comparison with a lot of the top interior offensive linemen in the cycle.

DL Liam Andrews (No. 116)

Charles Power on 11/22: Watching Liam Andrews as a defensive lineman this year, it does appear as if he’s leaned up a little bit. I also think a lot of the same physical traits that we like so much when viewing him as an offensive line prospect crosses over to the defensive line. He has elite length and is a very good athlete. I think he’s still kind of learning how to play defensive line, relative to his technique and overall consistency on a snap-to-snap basis, but he certainly has upside. He’s more than good enough to make an impact on the defensive line at Penn State.

I still believe that his highest upside, relative to the NFL Draft, is on the offensive line, just given how rare his physical tools are for that position. But if he wants to go the defensive route, I think he’s certainly good enough to make an impact on that side.

CB Jon Mitchell (No. 132)

Charles Power on 11/22: Jon Mitchell was a big mover for us. [On3 scout] Cody [Bellaire] could give you a little more on him, but we both thought Mitchell had some outstanding film. He has put together some really strong senior film. He’s a guy who really has plus instincts. His play speed is outstanding and he does a great job reading receivers. You can tell he’s been coached well, but he also has that natural ability to go with just his technical ability. He has outstanding feet, really good instincts and a quick trigger. So, he’s a guy who we really liked on the senior film and moves up into the top 100 and is now a top 10 cornerback prospect as well.

OL Garrett Sexton (No. 158)

Charles Power on 12/19: Garrett Sexton is a developmental tackle who has very good physical traits. He’s built really well and is a guy who’s put on a ton of weight over the past year or year and a half. He has plus length at tackle with over 34-inch arms. He’s still settling in and learning at offensive tackle – he’s really only played O-line for like two years – but I think the strides he’s made are encouraging. I think he’s a guy who’s going to benefit from not being pressed into playing early. He has very high upside.

I think if Gareth Sexton hits, he could potentially hit in a big way. He has good play strength for a guy who is more of a developmental type, which I think is certainly a positive. So, I think when you look at the length, the play strength and just his room for growth, despite already being a pretty good player right now, I think his arrow is pointing up. He’s just scratching the surface of his potential. I think he could take off with time in Penn State’s strength program, continuing to get bigger, and then of course the coaching he’s going get at Penn State as well.

DL Mylachi Williams (No. 246)

Charles Power on 11/22: Mylachi Williams is one we continue to be high on relative to the rest of the industry. I just think that he has a lot of twitch, athleticism and burst off the edge. He’s a guy who’s going to need to continue getting bigger and stronger, and is likely a year or two away from getting to his optimal size and strength, but there’s a lot of upside there just based off the juice he has off the edge with his twitch and burst.

It’s not a great edge cycle nationally, in terms of the overall depth and the typical quality we see at such a premium position, but I think he stacks up pretty well in that group. He’s currently our 10th-ranked edge prospect.

Saf. Dejuan Lane (No. 286)

Charles Power on 12/19: With Dejuan Lane, what stands out to me about him is the ball skills. He’s a guy who played on both sides of the ball. I think he’s instinctive in coverage as a safety. He can roll into the box and play against the run. But I think just his experience playing on both sides helps him in coverage and helps him relative to making plays on the ball and coming down with interceptions.

Saf. Vaboue Toure (No. 301)

Charles Power on 12/19: What impressed me about Vaboue Toure, was just the physicality he played with as a senior. He was very active. He’s a striker. When you’re watching DBs, especially in this cycle, I found myself wanting to see more guys who play with a physical edge and Toure certainly did that. I think he closes quickly. He’s really effective playing downhill. He’s tough and physical, and a guy who plays fast. I could see him making an impact on special teams early in his career, at the minimum, and then kind of seeing where he settles into Penn State’s secondary. But I really like the attitude and physicality he plays with.