A blue-chip Penn State recruiting target received an in-home visit from the guy who could be his future position coach.
Stan Drayton visited Brian Bonner, a four-star RB from Californiaโs Valencia High School.
Bonner is one of Americaโs best prep RBs.
247Sports has him as the No. 6 RB in the country, the No. 17 player in California and the 105th-ranked overall player. This would make Bonner the top-ranked Penn State โ26 RB commit. Harrisburgโs Messiah Mickens, whoโs ranked No. 14, has been committed to Penn State since Aug. 2023. Penn State currently has a dynamic RB duo in Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who each committed to the 2022 class.
To quote Yogi Berra, could it be โDeja Vu all over againโ for the Class of 2026?
THE SCOUTING REPORT
Hereโs the scouting report on Bonner provided by 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst Greg Biggins.
โBonner is on the short list when talking about the top running backs in the โ26 West Coast class,โ Biggins wrote. โWe liked him a lot at the Under Armour Next Camp in March and he has the total package of size, speed, wiggle and hands. Heโs an all-purpose back who put up solid numbers as a sophomore running it and as a receiver. He has a very projectable frame at about 6-0, 185 pounds with room to add good weight and his speed definitely shows up on the football field. Heโs both quick and fast with some wiggle and can play every down and in any situation. He has shined this Spring on the track with personal best 10.65-100m but heโs not a track guy playing football, heโs a true high level Power 4 prospect who can play for any college in the country. Bonner is a high ceiling player with NFL upside.โ
THE BAD NEWSโฆ
Hereโs the bad news for Penn Stateโ Notre Dame appears to be the favorite in this recruiting race. Eric Thomas of IrishIllustrated.com placed a โcrystal ballโ projection into 247 forecasting Thomas to Notre Dame.
The new RB coach at ND, of course, is JaโJuan Seider, who previously spent seven seasons at Penn State.
Bonner has an official visit to Penn State scheduled for June 13-15.
