Penn State has had a pretty could run of keeping the top high school players in Pennsylvania home, and a PA kid just entered the transfer portal.
The top-rated Class of 2022 player, Nicholas Singleton (Shillington), signed with Penn State.
The next year’s top player, J’ven Williams (Wyomissing), did the same, and Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin made it three in a row late last month.
The top player from the ‘21 Class was Nolan Rucci, an offensive lineman from Warwick High School in Lititz, Pennsylvania, located roughly two hours from State College. During his recruitment, Penn State was in his top two, but Rucci ultimately picked Wisconsin, where he played for three years.
Both of Rucci’s parents graduated from Penn State and are season ticket holders, and that, along with Rucci’s talent, had a lot of people wanting Rucci to pick PSU.
“There was always a lot of outside pressure to go to Penn State,” Rucci told the Centre Daily Times after he committed to Wisconsin. “But at the end of the day, when you’re making your decision, it is the most selfish decision you can make. And so you’ve really gotta be thinking about what you want, not what everybody else in your community or your family wants.”
Now, Rucci is in the transfer portal, per Chris Hummer and Matt Zenitz of 247Sports.
Wisconsin offensive lineman Nolan Rucci has entered the transfer portal, @mzenitz and I have learned for @247Sports.
He ranked as a five-star recruit in the 2021 class. https://t.co/nzsxyL2xAt pic.twitter.com/3QkvUqcZCN
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) January 4, 2024
He played only five games at Wisconsin over three seasons, starting out as a tackle but moving to the interior.
It’s hard to tell where Rucci would be best at the college level since there hasn’t been a lot of game reps. But Penn State will be losing both of its starting tackles— including projected top-five NFL draft pick Olu Fashanu— next season, so that’s another reason Rucci is a big one to watch.
Penn State also landed the top ‘20 player in PA, Julian Fleming, who committed after entering the transfer portal from Ohio State.
