This past Tuesday, Penn State football offered Kam Pringle, a 6-foot-7, 315-pound offensive tackle from Woodland High School in Dorchester, South Carolina. According to Rivals.com, Pringle is a four-star recruit, the No. 1 overall player in South Carolina for the 2024 class and the No. 2 offensive tackle in the country for that class.
He picked up his first offer from the University of Georgia last March and currently has 15 from places such as South Carolina, Ohio State, Florida, Florida State and now Penn State.
Nittany Sports Now’s Joe Smeltzer talked with Pringle about his offer from Penn State and what else goes on in the life of a high school sophomore coveted by some of the best college football programs in the country.
Nittany Sports Now: What are your thoughts on getting offered a scholarship to play football at Penn State?
Kam Pringle: It’s definitely something I’m very proud of. The offer, I’ve been kind of sensing it coming for a little bit, seeing it build up and fall in place. So when coach gave me that call, it was really exciting to finally have that offer.
NSN: Which coach was the one that called you and offered you?
KP: (Offensive Line) coach (Phil) Trautwein.
NSN: Coming from South Carolina, what do you know about Penn State’s program watching it from a distance?
KP: I mean, I’m not going to sit here and act like I know everything about the program. Of course, I’m still learning. (I know) kind of the cliche stuff. You know, whiteout, loud stadium, Saquon Barkley, Trace McSorley. But I don’t know everything like a Penn State fan would know.
NSN: How would you describe yourself as a player for people that haven’t seen you play?
KP: Big. Physical. I try to play smart. I try to move around as much as possible, try to run up the field, do a lot of things that a guy my size wouldn’t do. Just charging up the field full speed on screens or trying to finish guys after the play.
NSN: How would you say you’re handling getting these D1 offers and big-time D1 offers. Some of the best schools in the nation they’re already offering you when you’re still a sophomore in high school.
KP: Staying humble, of course, is key. I know it sounds pretty cliche, but not letting it go to your head, and how you do that is not making that your life. Not making yourself just known for that. When I walk around my house, in my mind, I’m not imagining myself as Kam Pringle with all these offers and this “bow down, bow down.” I’m just picturing myself as just another 16-year-old.
NSN: Are there any frontrunners for you right now? I know Rivals has predicted South Carolina for you.
KP: Whatever is put out, Crystal Ball, Fan Forecast or anything, that’s not controlled by me at all. To me, I think about Florida A&M the same way I think about South Carolina or Penn State. I mean, to me, all of my offers, if they’re interested in offering me, I’m interested in them.
NSN: What do you remember about your first offer?
KP: It was great. The first offer, I felt like I was on top of the world. Something you worked for so long, and to finally get that call, especially from the defending national champions, which I mean, they weren’t at the time, but they’re still Georgia. So getting that call really meant a lot. That’s really what kickstarted my recruitment.
NSN: What does it mean to you to be the No. 1 player in your state from your class?
KP: That’s one accolade and one achievement. It’s a great feeling to have that achievement, but it’s really just one thing that I want to check off the list. Now, I’m trying to be the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country.
