- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 375,136
- Reaction score
- 43
One of Penn State's top commitments in the Class of 2026 has reportedly locked in an official visit to the school that bounced the Nittany Lions from the College Football Playoff, Notre Dame. The timing of this news may not be coincidental, as a former Penn State assistant who had a hand in he recruiting process has moved from Penn State to Notre Dame.
The recruit in question is four-star running back Messiah Mickens, of Harrisburg. Mickens has been committed to Penn State since August 2023 and it seemed for a long time this was a safe commitment for the Nittany Lions. However, the offseason move of running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider to Notre Dame may have inspired Mickens to give the Irish a closer look before he gets to the point of signing his letter of intent later this year.
It should be no shock to see Mickens put an official visit on his schedule because he did commit so early in his recruiting process. It is never wise to skip out on exploring all opportunities when going through the recruiting process, which is why decommitments happens in the recruiting game all the time. Mickens has visited Notre Dame before too, although not with Seider in his new role in South Bend.
This should be considered a bit worrisome for James Franklin and his staff given the optics of everything in this stage of the recruiting game, but it should also not be something that takes the staff by surprise either.
When Mickens will make his official trip to Notre Dame is unconfirmed at this time, but it will surely be something to keep a close eye on when it does happen. But Mickens will not be done with official visits after visiting Notre Dame. Mickens shared on his social media account that he will also be taking an official visit to North Carolina with new head coach Bill Belichick. That official visit is scheduled for June 20-22.
So it is clear that Penn State has a little extra work to do to secure a commitment from one of the top recruits in Pennsylvania. The competition just got a bit tougher for the Nittany Lions.
Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Top RB commit for Penn State to take official visits elsewhere
Continue reading...
The recruit in question is four-star running back Messiah Mickens, of Harrisburg. Mickens has been committed to Penn State since August 2023 and it seemed for a long time this was a safe commitment for the Nittany Lions. However, the offseason move of running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider to Notre Dame may have inspired Mickens to give the Irish a closer look before he gets to the point of signing his letter of intent later this year.
It should be no shock to see Mickens put an official visit on his schedule because he did commit so early in his recruiting process. It is never wise to skip out on exploring all opportunities when going through the recruiting process, which is why decommitments happens in the recruiting game all the time. Mickens has visited Notre Dame before too, although not with Seider in his new role in South Bend.
This should be considered a bit worrisome for James Franklin and his staff given the optics of everything in this stage of the recruiting game, but it should also not be something that takes the staff by surprise either.
When Mickens will make his official trip to Notre Dame is unconfirmed at this time, but it will surely be something to keep a close eye on when it does happen. But Mickens will not be done with official visits after visiting Notre Dame. Mickens shared on his social media account that he will also be taking an official visit to North Carolina with new head coach Bill Belichick. That official visit is scheduled for June 20-22.
So it is clear that Penn State has a little extra work to do to secure a commitment from one of the top recruits in Pennsylvania. The competition just got a bit tougher for the Nittany Lions.
Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Top RB commit for Penn State to take official visits elsewhere
Continue reading...
