Penn State DE Joseph Mupoyi’s commitment leads this edition of the Farrell Files for Penn State football.
— Mupoyi is raw for sure so let’s get that out of the way early. He’s 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds with offers from Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Rutgers and others. But he’s key in this Penn State class. There’s is a need for athletic edge rushers Penn State can develop who have length and the ability to win with speed. Fellow DE Jamieal Lyons is similar but more geared towards run support and can win with more power and inside moves which is why he’s rated higher than Mupoyi. But when it comes to pure outside pass rush speed, I like Mupoyi better. He and Lyons compliment each other well. James Frankin likes to find prospects in Connecticut as we’ve seen from his signings of Marquis Wilson, Will Levis and others, with mixed results. Mupoyi plays lesser competition at St. Thomas More and dominates with athleticism at this stage. But as a project of sorts, he’s worth the risk. His teammate, Penn State DB commit Zion Tracy, is another good example.
— What would be great for PSU is an additional DE commit from UNC decommitment Kaveion Keys. Virginia Tech is hard on Keys, who hails from Richmond and has always been a huge in-state target. But the Hokies don’t have anything close to offer Keys compared to Penn State when it comes to winning and recent player development. I’d be stunned if Keys wasn’t a part of this class in the end.
— I also expect DE Mason Robinson from Maryland to be part of this class and he could be committed by the time you read this. He’s undersized and could play standup linebacker or be a hybrid but he’s very smart at angles and reads defenses well. He’s a future defensive leader and possible captain. He was committed to Northwestern and Pat Fitzgerald targeted him for his smarts and character in addition to his football skill.
— Finally, Kent State wide receiver Dante Cephas would be an amazing get for Penn State. He hails from Western Pennsylvania, and when I was doing my national Group of Five and overall top wide receiver lists heading into this season, he stood out. He dropped off a bit in 2022 with six fewer TDs and landed well below his 1,000-yard mark in 2021, but that was due to some missed games and fewer targets in that offense for some reason. He’ll likely look at Notre Dame, Pitt and some others but PSU feels good about what they showed this weekend.
