It came as a bit of a shock to many when Taylor Stubblefield was let go as the Penn State receivers coach in January.
James Franklin and the Nittany Lions quickly moved on to Marques Hagans, a former UVA player and coach, to take over the position. But by that time he was already a bit behind the eight ball with Penn State’s growing 2024 class having no receiver commitments.
In the span of 50 hours from Wednesday to Friday, however, he’s entirely changed the outlook for Penn State’s 2024 class at the position with huge hits landing three prospects at the position.
Tyseer Denmark
The first domino began to fall last weekend, when Philly’s own Tyseer Denmark, an Oregon commit at the time, visited campus and shortly thereafter decommitted from the Ducks.
By Wednesday, Denmark announced his decision to commit to Penn State.
5555% committed🤍💙🦁🦁🦁🦁@RivalsFriedman @Hayesfawcett3 @coachjfranklin pic.twitter.com/hOt37KfuVa
— tyseer5denmark (@tyseer5denmark) June 21, 2023
A composite four star prospect. Denmark now gets to take up the “Best in PA. Stay in PA” mantra. His flipping gives the Nittany Lions commitments from the top three prospects coming out of PA in the next cycle.
The Roman Catholic star receiver joins Belle Vernon RB Quinton Martin and Erie OL Cooper Cousins at the top of that “Best in PA” list.
Denmark may have become the first receiver to join the class of 2024 for the Lions, but he wasn’t alone long.
Peter Gonzalez
Just two days later, the Nittany Lions earned a commitment from a second PA-based WR that would join Denmark.
Penn State went deep into enemy territory for this commitment, landing Central Catholic (Pittsburgh) star Peter Gonzalez.
COMMITTED 🦁‼️‼️ #WEARE @coachjfranklin @coachmhagans @CalvinLowry @CoachTerryPSU pic.twitter.com/1EG84MlB2i
— Peter Gonzalez (@Petergonzalez70) June 23, 2023
The three star receiver is not only coming from the heart of Pitt country, but is a Pitt legacy, making him an even tougher land for the Nittany Lions.
The receiver had received offers from West Viginia,, Pitt, Wisconsin and others before he chose Penn State over fellow finalists Virginia Tech and Miami.
Landing Gonzalez also gives Penn State their seventh in-state commitment for the 2024 class.
Josiah Brown
Not long after Gonzalez announced he was heading to state college, Holy Trinity Diocesan’s Josiah Brown announced he’d be headed there, too.
100% Committed !!💙🦁 #weare @247Sports @On3Recruits @NewsdayHSsports pic.twitter.com/ejx8vZps4u
— Josiah(JB)Brown (@Brown7Josiah) June 23, 2023
A four star prospect, Brown represents the top prospect in New York for the 2024 cycle and gives Penn State further recruiting domination in the region.
Brown had offers from powerhouses like Michigan, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, etc. but ultimately chose the Nittany Lions over his other finalist – Rutgers.
Brown brings a recruiting class that featured no receivers earlier this week to one that has three receivers on board and features two in the Top 247 of the national rankings.
What’s Next
Penn State, at this point, appears to be hoping for their next huge weekend on July 1.
Their 2024 class may now contain 20 commitments, but only one of those is from a defensive lineman.
While they’ve been named in several top three or five lists by several DL prospects in the last week or so, they will need to wait until that weekend to find out how successful they will wind up being with those.
