With 14 players currently committed in their class of 2021, and several other top targets already off the board, the Nittany Lions extended new offers to Austin Uke, Deshun Murrell and Deonte Anderson over the past week.
Uke, an offensive tackle from Dallas, Texas, is currently pledged to Holy Cross. Although currently unranked, Uke has received a bevy of notable offers over the past month, including USC, Florida State, SMU, and Houston. The 6-foot-4, 265-pound prospect, who attends Parish Episcopal School, committed to the Crusaders in September.
Murrell is also committed, as the three-star running back pledged to UCLA in June. Since that time, Murrell has garnered offers from Cal, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State, among others. The Centreville, Alabama product is rated as the 47th running back in the country for 2021.
Penn State has yet to secure a pledge at running back in the class. Anderson, conversely, is an uncommitted prospect as a three-star defensive end. From Fort Meade, Florida, Anderson is the 58th-best prospect from the Sunshine State in 2021. His offer sheet is littered with Power Five schools, including Indiana, Nebraska, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Illinois from the Big Ten.
Penn State does not have a commit from Florida in this cycle, but the Nittany Lions claimed at least a pair of prospects from the state in each of the past three recruiting classes.
Flowers’ decision appears imminent
One of the top in-state targets for the Nittany Lions in the Class of 2022 could be close to making his college decision.
Four-star wide receiver Mehki Flowers, from Steelton-Highspire High School, tweeted last Thursday that he will be committing soon. Originally, Flowers intended to release his top 10 schools earlier in November, but later opted against it.
Flowers is ranked as the fifth-best player in Pennsylvania for his class, and the 17th-best receiver in the country, although his versatility could potentially lend itself to playing other positions. The Nittany Lions offered Flowers in June 2019, and he’s attended camps at Penn State and unofficial visits to campus on numerous occasions.
Some of his other notable offers include Nebraska and Rutgers in the Big Ten, as well as Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Cincinnati, Arizona State, and Kentucky. The Nittany Lions have already secured commitments from four Pennsylvania prospects in the Class of 2022, matching their total from the current recruiting class.
Nittany Lions miss cut for 5-star OL
Zach Rice, a 5-star offensive tackle, did not include Penn State in his top group that he unveiled over the weekend. Rice, from Lynchburg, Virginia, plans to consider Miami, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma, Ohio State, LSU, and Virginia as he moves forward in his recruitment. The Nittany Lions offered Rice in September 2019, earlier than most of his finalists.
Playing at Liberty Christian Academy, Rice is evaluated as the top offensive tackle in the Class of 2022, and the second-best player in Virginia.
Commit Liam Clifford wins state title
While the play of redshirt junior quarterback Sean Clifford has been a hot topic of discussion among Nittany Lions faithful, the performance of his younger brother should provide plenty of optimism in State College.
Liam Clifford, a Class of 2021 commit for Penn State, recently concluded his high-school football career by claiming an Ohio state title in Division I for St. Xavier in Cincinnati. Nationally-ranked St. Xavier cruised to the crown with a 44-3 victory against Pickerington Central.
In a dozen games this campaign, Clifford registered 1,090 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns, highlighted by a magnificent 12 catch, 300-yard effort last month against Cleveland St. Ignatius. The younger Clifford, who committed to PSU more than a year ago, is rated as a three-star receiver, and the 20th-best prospect in Ohio for 2021.
