Penn State staff set to attend premier college showcase later this month
Penn State will once again send a few of its coaches to Michigan later this month. As we’ve seen for the past few years, the Nittany Lions are set to be one of over a dozen Power Four programs that attend Wayne State’s National College Showcase.
This year’s camp will actually run for two days, May 29-30. In previous years, head coach James Franklin was often one of the keynote speakers at the event, but according to a promotional graphic on social media, he’s not expected to speak this year. However, a handful of Penn State’s assistant coaches should be in attendance.
The event, which takes place in Detroit, has often featured many of Michigan’s top prospects. But, as it continues to grow, players from all across the country have started to attend. Last year, top prospects like quarterbacks Bryce Underwood and Cutter Boley, as well as wide receiver Andrew Marsh, were all in attendance. It also gave the staff an early opportunity to get a close look at some of their top 2026 targets currently like safety Marcello Vitti.
Penn State’s on-campus camp schedule
Schools are only allowed to attend or host 10 “evaluation days” throughout the summer. As Blue White Illustrated reported back in March, the staff has locked in six on-campus camps so far, with the Wayne State camp now confirmed to be the seventh.
That leaves three more camps that are still unannounced. One will surely be the annual Whiteout Camp, which is often announced later than others. The other two will likely be what the staff has been calling “mini-camps” the past few years. When those will take place is still to be announced.
There are two big changes for this year’s on-campus camps. The first big change is that the staff has ditched the idea of midweek camps. The staff was hopeful that they could use midweek camps to free them up to focus more on official visits in June, but for a school as isolated as Penn State, attendance was often less than they desired.
Franklin and his staff have also added a third 7-on-7 camp to this year’s list. Those events have been very successful in recent years when it comes to attracting many of the region’s top programs and players.
Below are the confirmed dates so far.
Penn State’s 2024 Summer Camp Schedule
Saturday, June 1 – Specialist Camp
Sunday, June 2 – Elite Showcase I
Friday, June 7 – Lion Strong 7-on-7 & Big Man Challenge I
Sunday, June 9 – Elite Showcase II
Friday, June 14 – Lion Strong 7-on-7 & Big Man Challenge II
Friday, June 21 – Lion Strong 7-on-7 & Big Man Challenge III
