Penn State football ends 2020 recruiting drought with sought-after offensive lineman

After a busy February, the Nittany Lions didn’t secure a 2020 commit in March. But Penn State started April off right.

Golden Achumba — a three-star offensive guard and all-name team candidate — joined James Franklin’s 2020 class on Tuesday morning, announcing his commitment to the Nittany Lions on Twitter. With the addition, Penn State moved from No. 19 to No. 13 in 247 Sports’ national recruiting rankings.

“The family atmosphere that they have, that was probably the main thing that stood out to me,” Achumba told Blue-White Illustrated prior to his commitment. “As soon as we got there, their coaching staff was waiting for us to shake our hands. They showed me that I’m important to them.”

Achumba — a DeMatha Catholic (Md.) product — is the sixth member of the class and the second offensive lineman for Penn State this cycle, linking up with Grant Toutant, a three-star tackle from Michigan.

Toutant was the first 2020 recruit to pick the Nittany Lions back in November. Four-star outside linebacker Derek Wingo committed on Christmas Day, and three players — No. 4 outside linebacker Curtis Jacobs, No. 18 cornerback Joshuah Moten and No. 26 dual-threat quarterback Micah Bowens — announced their decisions in February.

Achumba, a popular prospect in March, unofficially visited Michigan, Michigan State and West Virginia in the last month. The 6-foot-4, 320-pound lineman ultimately chose Penn State over 30 other programs, including Oklahoma, LSU, Florida and Tennessee.

Now, Franklin and his staff fix their eyes on Blue-White Weekend. In the past, the Nittany Lions have been successful in landing verbal commitments (i.e. 2019 four-star guard Caedan Wallace) on the day of Penn State’s final spring practice. And that could happen again on April 13.

This story was originally published April 2, 2019 at 10:25 AM.