Breaking down Penn State football’s 2022 recruiting class on both sides of the ball
Penn State football signed most of its 2022 recruiting class on the first day of the early signing period on Dec. 15 and the group will have an opportunity to impact the trajectory of the program. The class ranks at No. 7 in the country according to On3’s consensus team rankings. It’s the second highest class Penn State head coach James Franklin has brought in, behind the 2018 class, which was headlined by former Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons.
This group, unlike that one and any other class under Franklin, has a five-star quarterback — Drew Allar — at the helm that could alter the program’s future by himself. Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, he shouldn’t have to do it alone. The group also boasts plenty of weapons and high end defensive talent that should elevate the team on both sides of the ball.
Let’s take a look at the class and how it will fit in next season and beyond.
Offense
The conversation about the offense in this class has to start with Allar. The high school senior will be enrolling in January, giving him a full spring to get adjusted to Penn State. That head start will allow him to learn the playbook and get reps with his teammates, essentially giving him 1.5 years on campus before he would be expected to start, now that redshirt senior starting quarterback Sean Clifford will be returning for a sixth season.
Allar has prototypical size for a quarterback at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds and has the arm strength to match. He can connect on throws all over the field and uses different arm angles to get passes by defenders. Allar is the type of prospect that can elevate a program to another level, especially if he has the right mix of talent around him.
Fellow quarterback Beau Pribula will also enroll early but presents a higher floor as a prospect. He’s an accurate passer with better athleticism than Allar and projects as a solid starting quarterback.
Penn State made the effort to surround both quarterbacks with a high level of ability and the group the Nittany Lions ended up with should help Allar or Pribula lead it to the next step. The class is especially good at the skill positions where five-star running back Nicholas Singleton and four-star wide receiver Kaden Saunders lead the way. Singleton has good size and breakaway speed with the explosion to get up field and disappear into the end zone on any given play. He’s the type of talent the running back room lacked in the 2021 season. He’ll be joined by four-star running back Kaytron Allen who is a physical back similar to current running back Noah Cain.
Saunders is small for his position but should be able to play inside or outside thanks to his athleticism and refined route running. He separates from opponents with ease and is a candidate to get on the field early because he’s a game-breaking level of talent.
Anthony Ivey, Tyler Johnson and Omari Evans round out the additional wide receivers. Ivey is a complete receiver that should play relatively early, while Johnson and Evans have larger question marks. Johnson was relatively unknown as a recruit and didn’t play the highest level of competition, while Evans mostly played quarterback but has the kind of speed that could make him the fastest Nittany Lion as soon as he enrolls. Tight end Jerry Cross is the final skill position player and is a bit of unknown. He has excellent height at 6-foot-7 but will have to add strength and improve as a blocker in his first couple of years on campus.
The questions on offense in the class arise in the trenches. Drew Shelton is a four-star offensive tackle who could contribute after adding more strength and has the ability to be a long-term starter at right tackle. Maleek McNeil is much further behind Shelton from a development standpoint, but has the size necessary to be a left tackle. Neither player projects as an immediate impact type of talent, which is hard to find at the high school level.
They’re joined by three-star junior college offensive tackle JB Nelson, who has the size to play outside but his athleticism points to him being a guard instead of a tackle. Nelson will also need to take the time in the Penn State strength and conditioning program to prepare for the Big Ten’s level of competition.
Defense
The defensive class is solid at all three levels with a good mix of players with upside and those who can get on the field relatively early.
That starts along the defensive line where the team’s highest-rated, and best, defensive recruit plays. Four-star defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton is a good athlete who can bend and get around the edge to get after the quarterback just as well as any recruit in the country. He’s strong and physical as a pass rusher, using his hands and leverage to beat opposing offensive tackles. Dennis-Sutton has the best mix of floor and ceiling on the defense in this class. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he plays as a freshman, just as it wouldn’t be if he’s the unit’s best player in two years.
He’s joined as an edge rusher by Ken Talley, who is a high-effort, high-motor player who puts it all on the line every snap. Talley doesn’t have the best bend in the world, but he’s a good athlete that should continue to improve from that standpoint in college. He and Dennis-Sutton are joined on the line by defensive tackles Kaleb Artis, who has good size but will need to improve his strength and athleticism, and Zane Durant, who is an excellent athlete for his size and could be a powerhouse pass rusher from the inside at the college level.
The second level of the unit is filled by Keon Wylie and Abdul Carter. Wylie will need to add weight but plays with a high motor and is a good athlete for a linebacker, who Penn State defensive recruiting coordinator and cornerbacks coach Terry Smith referred to as one of the more underrated recruits in the class.
Carter is the higher upside player of the two, with freakish athleticism and the potential to be the next great linebacker at Penn State. He’ll have to continue to play the position but could contribute as a pass rusher relatively quickly. His progression will depend on his ability to learn how to diagnose plays in front of him and become a complete linebacker.
The secondary has four incoming players — three safeties and one cornerback. Two of the safeties, Cristian Driver and Mehki Flowers, could also play wide receiver but project better on defense where they can use their physicality and strength to have an impact in both the running game and the passing game. The third safety, four-star KJ Winston is a strong all-around safety who tackles well despite needing to add more strength to play in college. He excels in coverage where he can turn and run with running backs and tight ends in man coverage while covering plenty of ground and reading the quarterback when he’s asked to drop into a deep zone.
Four-star cornerback Cam Miller is a relatively polished cornerback who will continue to improve as he adds more speed and strength. He’s not likely to impact the defense in the run game but could potentially be a No. 1 or No. 2 cornerback down the road thanks to his ability in man coverage.
The final piece of the class, of course, is punter Alex Bacchetta, who has a rocket for a leg and could be one of the best punters in the country in due time.
Outlook
This class could be as good as any in Franklin’s tenure when it’s all said and done. Allar will be the swing piece that dictates if the group will be elevate the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff but there’s enough talent outside of the five-star quarterback to get the Lions back to a consistent 10-win team and New Year’s Six bowl appearances.
The offense will have the talent to be among the top 25 in the country with an average quarterback at the helm and any boost beyond that should push it up multiple tiers. The line is a question but there’s enough talent to be as explosive as Franklin frequently mentions with the ball.
Defensively it only lacks cornerback depth and should help continue the run of great defenses Penn State has boasted in recent years. There’s enough immediate talent at all three levels to backfill any needs on the depth chart in the short term and enough upside to elevate it in the future.
WIth the depth across the board and the high end talent, Penn State has set itself up well for the future with the 2022 class.
This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 10:23 AM.
