Penn State jumps in On3 team rankings with latest commitment
Penn State is moving up in the team recruiting rankings for the Class of 2023. Landing their latest addition, four-star safety DaKaari Nelson, the Nittany Lions now are back at No. 7 in the rankings.
And he’s planning to see that number continue to climb in the coming days, weeks, and months.
“It’s going to be one of the top five classes if not the number one class,” Nelson said. “By the time it’s all said and done, we’re going to be at the top of the charts.”
Latest recruiting class improvement
For the time being, Nelson and Penn State will have to settle for seventh.
Before Nelson’s pledge on Saturday afternoon, Penn State sat at eighth in the rankings. That number had changed from its mid-week place in which Texas leapfrogged the Nittany Lions with its commitment of top quarterback prospect, Arch Manning.
At present, only Ohio State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Southern Cal, Alabama, and Clemson currently are ahead of the Nittany Lions in the rankings. With Nelson’s addition, the Nittany Lions are back atop of Texas (8th), Louisville (9th), and Texas A&M (10th), which round out the Top 10.
The addition also puts Penn State at second in the Big Ten behind the Buckeyes. Michigan State, Michigan, Northwestern, Nebraska, Iowa, Purdue, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Rutgers, Illinois, Maryland, and Indiana round out the conference rankings.
Certainly, Nelson’s status as one of the nation’s top safeties doesn’t hurt the effort, though. Ranked No. 261 overall in the On3 Consensus, Nelson is also the 22nd-ranked Class of 2023 safety and 19th-ranked prospect in Alabama. He selected Penn State over Auburn, Clemson and Tennessee.
With Nelson’s commitment, he becomes the third-highest prospect in Penn State’s Class of 2023. With a rating of 92.70 in the On3 Consensus rankings, he sits behind only offensive lineman Alex Birchmeier (95.38, No. 31 nationally), and Jven Williams(93.80, No. 64).
Penn State’s Class of 2023 team ranking
Against Penn State’s peers, the 15-man class of commitments is now tied with Notre Dame in the top 10 for total pledges. Clemson (14), Ohio State (13), Georgia (12), and Southern Cal (11) follow closely with their total commitments. However, Alabama’s five commitments at No. 5, Texas’ eight at No. 8, and Texas A&M’s 10 at No. 10 make those programs ripe for future jumps in the team rankings.
The Nittany Lions’ average player rating now checks in at 89.53. It remains the lowest average player ranking among any of the other Top 10 programs in the rankings.
Breaking down the class by star-rating, Penn State now has eight four-stars and seven three-stars. The eight four-stars are tied for behind Clemson’s nation-leading 12, Notre Dame’s 11, Ohio State’s 10, and Georgia with eight.
