Penn State football adds top player in Pennsylvania to 2024 recruiting class
Penn State has added a big name to its 2024 recruiting class.
Four-star athlete Quinton Martin — the top player in Pennsylvania in the 2024 class — committed to the Nittany Lions Friday night.
Martin is the No. 30 player in the country according to the 247Sports Composite player rankings and the No. 3 athlete in the country. He announced the decision via his Twitter account.
The four-star athlete projects as either a running back or defensive back and had 17 listed scholarship offers, including those from Florida State, Michigan and Ohio State. He led Belle Vernon High School to a state title this season in Pennsylvania, and did it while carrying the ball 20 times for 89 yards in the championship game.
He’s projected to be a second or third round pick in the NFL Draft down the road by 247Sports national recruiting analyst Brian Dohn.
“Offers position versatility as running back, safety or linebacker depending on physical development,” Dohn’s scouting report on Martin’s 247Sports profile reads. “Multi-sport profile includes basketball in which he averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds per game. During in-person evaluation in July 2022, showed excellent foot speed and change of direction. May be best suited to be big-bodied running back. Impacts game in all three phases. Punishing runner and tough to bring down on first contact. Runs with low pad level given size and is agile. North-south runner with little wasted movement. Very good body control allows for subtle last-second cuts. Has high football IQ and understands how to set up blocks. Patient in waiting for running lanes to develop.
“Hits hole well and shows next gear to get past second level. Has vision and ability to bounce plays outside. Has cut-back ability and is instinctive runner. Shows ability to slip tackles behind line of scrimmage. Accelerates quickly after jump-stop. Solid pass catcher out of backfield. Adept at running between tackles but can get to outside. Long strider in open field but there is Uncertainty about top end speed because lack of testing numbers. Has to continue to work on playing with low pad level because of size. Continued development as pass catcher will increase value. Early contributor at high-level program with star ability.”
Martin’s addition to the class moves it from No. 16 to No. 9 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings, making it the No. 3 class in the Big Ten behind Michigan and Ohio State.
He’s now the highest-rated player in Penn State’s class, surpassing four-star offensive lineman Cooper Cousins.
This story was originally published April 7, 2023 at 7:35 PM.
