Four-star DE Luke Wafle confirms Penn State and other official visit dates

Penn State was always going to get an official visit from four-star edge rusher Luke Wafle. Now, we know when that visit will take place, plus which other schools are in the mix.

On Monday, news broke that Wafle will kick off his official visits with a trip to Florida this upcoming weekend, May 16-18. The Gators joined the mix a bit later than most schools, but an early April visit was enough for Billy Napier and his staff to at least get one more visit and remain in the mix with one of the nation’s top five defensive ends.

His other four official visits will take place after Memorial Day, beginning on May 30 when he travels to Columbus for the weekend to spend time with Ryan Day and his staff. After that, Penn State will host him June 6-8. It’ll be Wafle’s seventh visit to the school, which is the most of his top contenders. It also doesn’t hurt that his older brother, Owen, transferred into the program this past winter to work with defensive line coach Deion Barnes.

“It’s been a really great start to spring ball for him and it was awesome to be able to watch him while I was there on an unofficial visit with Luke,” said David Wafle, Luke and Owen’s father back on April 9. “Luke was right in there, too. He was right there, standing with everyone. We got to listen to him being coached and see how he’s taking it all in. It was a very good experience.”

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He went on to add, “The coaches have really embraced him and that’s been great for Owen. Also, Owen is a weight room guy and those guys are similar. The experience has been great.”

Wafle’s official visit to Penn State will be one to circle, but he plans to take two more after that, beginning with a cross-country trip to USC the weekend of June 13-15. Just like Florida, Lincoln Riley and his staff had work to do coming into the spring, but a strong visit just a month ago on April 13 put the Trojans into the mix.

Finally, it’ll be Texas that gets the often-coveted final visit from June 20-22. Wafle, who stands at 6-5, 245 pounds, took his first visit to Austin in March 2024 and has grown close with the Longhorns’ staff ever since. His official visit will be his fifth time visiting with their staff.

While Wafle hasn’t announced a specific date for his commitment, he is expected to end his recruitment at some point in July. There’s also a real chance Wafle could be considered a five-star prospect in On3’s Rankings by then. On3 finishes with 32 five-star players each year, and as of now, only seven players have been awarded that distinction. Wafle is currently ranked No. 14 nationally, No. 4 at defensive end and No. 1 in New Jersey.

On3 Experts Predict Wafle’s Decision

On Tuesday, On3 national experts Steve Wiltfong and Chad Simmons were both asked to give their predictions on where Wafle will end up. Both of them chose Penn State.

Simmons — Penn State: “Wafle has been on the road a lot this spring and multiple schools are on his list. Florida will get an official visit this weekend. Wafle’s brother transferred to Penn State from Michigan, so he has a connection to Happy Valley. James Franklin’s program will be a contender at the end and schools will have to go through them to get the elite pass-rusher.”

Wiltfong — Penn State: “I’ll say Penn State keeps Wafle close to home for now, but Ohio State or Texas would not surprise me in this one. Summer official visits will be huge with USC rounding out the top four for the touted On300 prospect.”