Penn State lands Vega Ioane; three-star 2022 lineman picks the Lions over Washington

Penn State has made one final Class of 2022 splash.

The Nittany Lions finished out their latest signing group by landing a commitment from Graham, Wash., On3 Consensus three-star offensive lineman Vega Ioane on Wednesday.

Ioane’s signed National Letter of Intent is now in State College. He announced his choice just before Noon ET on the second National Signing Day.

Penn State beat out Washington for the senior’s signature. The 6-foot-4, 280-pound prospect was committed to the Huskies until mid-December. He backed away from that pledge just before the early National Signing Day, however, as the PAC-12 school underwent a coaching change.

With offensive line coach Phil Trautwein leading the charge and special teams coordinator Stacy Collins sharing what he knew about Ioane from his time at Boise State, Penn State jumped into the mix on Jan. 13. It beat out UCLA and potentially others for his final official visit of the cycle last weekend. That trip ultimately led to Wednesday’s decision, which gives the Lions their 25th signee of the cycle.

“There were a lot of things to love about my visit down to Happy Valley, but I think one of the best parts would have to be sitting in that meeting room with Coach Trautwein, and him talking about how he runs his big boys and how he specifically trains them,” Ioane told BWI after his visit.

“The best takeaway from the visit would be knowing that if I do end up in PA, I would be taken care of by the coaches, players, and staff members.”

He added Wednesday:

“Everybody speaks highly of how Penn State athletes train,” Ioane said. “I’ve heard of this for like five years, and I just wanted to be a part of that.”

Two current Penn State players played a role

The coaching staff’s message to Ioane and his family was key. So, too, was what he learned from official visit hosts offensive lineman Landon Tengwall and defensive lineman D’Von Ellies.

“From them, I learned that being at Penn State, no matter what, everything is laid out for me as a student-athlete to make life in college a little less stressful,” Ioane said.

“From Coach Franklin and Trautwein, they are awesome coaches who put their families and players before themselves. That’s something that stood out to me the most.”

Penn State now has four offensive linemen signed in this cycle. Lackawanna College tackle JB Nelson is already enrolled. Four-star Downingtown, Pa., tackle Drew Shelton and three-star New York tackle Maleek McNeil, then, will enroll later this year along with Ioane.

Ioane is ranked as the nation’s No. 536 player overall and No. 42 interior offensive lineman by the On3 Consensus. However, On3’s rankings hold him in higher regard. They list him as the No. 23 interior offensive lineman in the class and also as the No. 4 senior in the state of Washington.

Penn State actually signed two players on Wednesday. Besides Ioane, they also inked Lackawanna College safety Tyrece Mills. The latest Falcon to decide to play in State College after suiting up in Scranton, Mills committed to the Lions last May but had to finish up some classwork at Lackawanna before putting pen to paper with head coach James Franklin’s program.