Penn State has received a commitment from a 6-foot-3, 320-pound defensive tackle in Aniti Paiva, made.athletics reported on Instagram Friday afternoon.
Paiva is a three-star from Skyline High School in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Penn State had been the favorite for Paiva for quite sometime, with Arizona also being in the mix.
Although Penn State and Arizona were the only schools Paiva scheduled an official visit to, he also had offers from schools such as Boise State, Colorado, Oregon State and Washington State.
His build is consistent with Penn State’s intention to get bigger on the interior defensive line.
PSU has made size on the interior defensive line a priority already during first-year coach Matt Campbell’s tenure, with the program signing four transfers who are above 300 pounds.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“All they’re telling me that I’ll play in this scheme is exactly how I want to play,” Paiva told NSN in an exclusive interview last month, “is from a true nose to inside shade of the guard or tackle, and that’s how I’ve always really played throughout my career. But they also say that I can sometimes move out to a nine (technique) in case the NFL, the thirty-two NFL teams ask to see some on that.”
Does being a three-star put a chip on Paiva’s shoulder? Absolutely.
“I see a lot of players that I think I’m better than getting big offers,” Paiva said. “So it kind of motivates me to do better and try to beat them.”
Penn State now has 19 players committed to its 2027 class.
