Penn State set for first of seven 'huge advantage' home games for recruiting

Penn State has its first of seven opportunities to wow recruits on game day at Beaver Stadium this Saturday.

The Nittany Lions welcome Ohio to town for a Noon kick at Beaver Stadium. In most years, the earliest television window combined with a non-conference opponent from the MAC in September would equal a small crowd of prospects. However, this week’s list includes an official visit in the Class of 2023 plus numerous notable underclassmen.

Every school attempts to put its best foot forward when hosting high school players in-season. That goes without saying. But, the game day experience is rarely an end-all, be-all, in most recruitments. It is undoubtedly a piece of the puzzle, though, and a full Beaver Stadium can give Penn State a big boost.

“It’s a huge piece to it,” Penn State tight ends coach Ty Howle said Thursday. “Because, obviously, I’m biased, not only because I coach here, but because I played here: This is the best environment in college football. So, anytime you get an opportunity to showcase that, and welcome recruits onto the scene and at our place, I think it’s a huge advantage for us.”

Fans play a huge part in the process. Some show up early enough to hoot and holler during warmups as recruits are led out onto the field. Others are part of the group that make game day in State College an experience from start to finish. And, that is often what recruits remember first following a visit.

“Huge credit goes out to our fans, our students, and how they bring energy,” Howle said. “That’s a huge advantage we have when we can get prospects on to our campus, show them what it’s like here on a game day, and showcase the things that Penn State has offered our student-athletes as far as from a game day environment and student life and those kinds of things.”

Highlighting top Penn State-Ohio visitors

Connecticut three-star corner Zion Tracy will be the Lions’ lone official visitor this weekend. Penn State currently leads for the Class of 2023 recruit in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.

A few Class of 2024 names to know include Maryland four-star edge Dominic Nichols and Philadelphia three-star teammates Samaj Jones and David Washington Jr.

Blue-White Illustrated will have a full visitors list out before the weekend, but subscribers received a first look at it back on Monday. See it here. Not a subscriber? Join us for just $1 for one year of access by clicking here.