The top JUCO player in the country from the Class of 2024 has Penn State in his top five.
College of San Mateo (Calif.) cornerback Sione Laulea, the No. 1 JC prospect in the 2024 class, named his top five on Monday https://t.co/52IxP0I4cc pic.twitter.com/wl7qgpqdzC
— Brandon Huffman (@BrandonHuffman) July 31, 2023
Sione Laulea, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound cornerback from California’s College of San Mateo, has Penn State in his top five along with Miami, Oklahoma, Oregon and USC.
Lauela went on an official visit to Penn State in June and is coming off another visit to Happy Valley this weekend for the school’s annual Lasch Bash BBQ. He’s also taken official visits to Miami and USC
Penn State doesn’t yet have a JUCO transfer committed to its 2024 Class, but the school has had success in that department in the past. Most notably, safeties Jaquan Brisker and Ji’Ayir Brown, both of Lackawanna Community College, came to Penn State and are now in the NFL.
Lauela’s story is an interesting one. Coming out of high school, where he played at San Mateo Serra, Sacramento State was the only school that had offered him. After helping his school to a state and national junior college championship Lauela’s recruitment has blown up. He now has offers from schools such as Arizona, Colorado, Florida State, Illinois, Iowa State, Louisville, Ole Miss, UCLA, UCF, Utah and Washington State.
247Sports reported in June that Lauela will announce his decision in October and that he plans on signing in December and enrolling in January.
Penn State has some solid defensive backs committed to the ‘24 class. Four-star Jon Mitchell (Jacksonville, Florida) and three-star Antoine Belgrave-Shorter (also Jacksonville) each committed in April, and three-star Kenneth Woseley (also Philly) committed the month before.
Lauela would be a feather in the camp for CBs coach and defensive recruiting coordinator Terry Smith.
