Penn State is in the top five for Jabari Murphy, a three-star Class of 2024 receiver from Elmore County High School in Eclectic, Alabama.
Murphy, a three-star recruit who’s listed at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, tweeted his finalists Friday morning.
Where’s home??????👀 pic.twitter.com/fu6EfO1LRp
— The Jabari Murphy🥷🏾 (@JabariMurphy8) April 14, 2023
Penn State is a finalist along with Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Kentucky and West Virginia.
In an interview with Rivals.com, Murphy explained why Penn State is a finalist.
“They are making the cut because I love how they produce wide receivers,” Murphy said. “You see a lot of their players in the NFL right now, so I think I could fit very well.”
Penn State has indeed had success in getting receivers to the league. Jahan Dotson was Washington’s first-round pick last year. Chris Godwin has been a Pro Bowler and won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers. Allen Robinson has been in the league for almost a decade.
Coach James Franklin’s program has been improving its recruiting efforts in Alabama recently.
Four-star safety DaKaari Nelson (Livingston) signed with Penn State’s 2023 class in December and will be coming to Happy Valley in the summer.
The ‘23 class also had one of the top defensive lineman of the cycle, Tomarrion Parker (Phenix City), committed last summer. Although Parker eventually signed with Clemson, he had Penn State as a finalist up until making his decision. Harrison “Trey Wallace (Pike Road) singed to Penn State’s 2021 Class and became a starting receiver in 2022 after Parker Washington’s season-ending injury in November.
If Murphy commits to Penn State, he’d be the first receiver and just the third offensive player to do so in the ‘24 Class. PSU currently has eight commitments in the cycle, the most recent being high-end four-star Quinton Martin, who committed last Friday. Martin is from Western Pennsylvania, which is a little closer than Alabama.
