STATE COLLEGE — Penn State took care of business Saturday with its 44-13 win over Ball State at Beaver Stadium. And while the 105,323 fans in the stands marked the return to a bit of normalcy for the Nittany Lions, so did the return of recruits, both committed and uncommitted, to Happy Valley.
A number of key commits in the Class of 2022 — which is still ranked No. 1 nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings — were in attendance for the game, including four-star offensive tackle Drew Shelton, four-star running back Nicholas Singleton, four-star wide receiver Kaden Saunders and four-star edge rusher Ken Talley.
Three-star safety Tyrece Mills and three-star offensive tackle JB Nelson, two commits from Lackawanna College, were also in attendance.
PennLive’s Joe Hermitt has a photo gallery and roundup of all the commits and recruits in attendance right here.
Read more: See which Penn State recruits were at Beaver Stadium for Ball State
The group of visitors for next week’s nationally televised Whiteout against Auburn is expected to feature some prominent targets for the Nittany Lions, but Saturday’s group had a couple interesting uncommitted prospects in attendance, including a young prospect from western Pennsylvania.
Belle Vernon athlete Quinton Martin is one of the top prospects in the Class of 2024 as Penn State tries to get in early with some top talent. Martin is ranked as a four-star recruit by 247Sports, which also has him as the No. 2 player in Pennsylvania, the No. 7 athlete nationally and the No. 40 overall prospect in the class.
His offer list features Pitt, Rutgers, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, according to 247Sports. Martin is a name to know.
Northeast edge rusher Ronel Nukah, who Rivals ranks as a three-star recruit in the Class of 2023, was in attendance. He’s teammates with Talley, and Nukah claimed a Penn State offer back in May 2020. According to Rivals, his offer list also features Akron, Temple and Tennessee.
Another Northeast edge rusher, Kion Wright, was also in attendance. His 247Sports profile lists him as unranked but with offers from Penn State, West Virginia and Texas A&M.
Read more: Marquis Wilson becomes first Penn State player to play both ways since Justin King
Pa. tight end picks up offer
Penn State has had success recruiting big, athletic tight ends in recent years, and an in-state player at the position picked up an offer Saturday.
The Nittany Lions offered Exeter Township tight end Joey Schlaffer on Saturday, he announced on his Twitter account. Schlaffer was at Beaver Stadium for Saturday’s game.
Schlaffer is listed at 6-foot-6, 210 pounds. 247Sports lists him as a three-star prospect, the No. 13 player in Pennsylvania and the No. 31 tight end in the class. Rivals also ranks him as a three-star recruit, and he checks in as the No. 10 player in Pennsylvania and No. 18 tight end nationally, per that service.
Schlaffer already has a rather long offer list of at least 16 schools, including Arizona State, Boston College, Cincinnati, Maryland, Michigan State, Nebraska, Pitt, Rutgers, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Penn State has only one commit in the Class of 2023 in four-star offensive lineman Alex Birchmeier. The Nittany Lions have one tight end committed in the Class of 2022 in four-star Jerry Cross.
Read more: Sunday Morning Quarterback: Four postgame reads on Penn State’s 44-13 win over Ball State | Jones
Penn State sends out a couple other offers
Two other players claimed Penn State offers last week, including one of the top players in the Class of 2023.
Catholic (La.) five-star Shelton Sampson Jr. tweeted Wednesday that he picked up a Penn State offer. Sampson is the No. 2 player in Louisiana, the No. 4 wide receiver nationally and the No. 30 overall prospect in the class in the 247Sports composite rankings. His offer list already features plenty of high-profile SEC programs, including LSU, Georgia and Florida.
Meadowcreek (Ga.) defensive lineman Champ Thompson also claimed a Penn State offer on his Twitter account. Thompson is a Class of 2024 prospect who already claimed offers from Arkansas, Miami (Fla.), Ole Miss and Oregon, according to 247Sports.
Quick hits
>> Penn State running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider was in Virginia on Friday night to watch former Nittany Lions commit Mathias “Mega” Barnwell in action, according to The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. Barnwell, a four-star recruit out of Riverbend (Va.), was committed to Penn State from June 2020 to January 2021 before re-opening his recruitment, but he’s still considering the Lions.
The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Barnwell scored a pair of touchdowns in his team’s victory.
>> Medina (Ohio) quarterback Drew Allar continues to put up ridiculous numbers early in his senior season. The four-star, whose stock has risen considerably this year, was 28 of 47 for 523 yards and five touchdowns and an interception in a win, according to Rivals. Here are Allar’s highlights, via Hudl.
>> Governor Mifflin running back Nicholas Singleton, who tweeted he would be in attendance Saturday, became the all-time leading rusher in Berks County history Friday night. In one half, Singleton rushed 10 times for 154 yards and four touchdowns and added another touchdown reception in a 56-0 win over Cocalico, according to the Reading Eagle.
In his high school career, the four-star recruit has 4,845 rushing yards and 85 touchdowns.
>> Lafayette Christian (La.) three-star Jordan Allen tweeted he’ll attend the Whiteout next week. Allen committed to Penn State this summer before ever visiting campus.
>> A couple central Pa. prospects, Trinity’s Wyatt Cooper and Bishop McDevitt’s Gabriel Arena, both tweeted they planned to attend Saturday’s game.
Read more: ‘It meant everything’: Jesse Luketa’s move to defensive end pays off in Penn State win
Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for PennLive. He can be reached at dgallen@pennlive.com. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow PennLive’s Penn State coverage on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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