Florida safety King Mack joins Penn State's 6th-ranked 2023 recruiting class

Penn State landed one of the top safeties in the nation Thursday when King Mack of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., made a verbal commitment to coach James Franklin.

BREAKING: Penn State picks up commitment No. 16 in its Class of 2023 from On3 Consensus ⭐⭐⭐⭐ DB @kingmack2004

"Penn State was just a different vibe. Happy Valley, once I got there, I knew that was the place to be."

Link: https://t.co/Slk9GvLCSM pic.twitter.com/bNYN4ge1Vi

— Blue White Illustrated (@PennStateOn3) June 30, 2022

Mack, rated 28th in the nation among safeties and an overall three-star prospect by Rivals.com, joins teammate Conrad Hussey, a four-star cornerback who committed to Penn State two months ago.

He is one of the most coveted defensive backs in the nation, with scholarship offers from 31 schools, including Michigan State, Pitt, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Miami, Minnesota, North Carolina, N.C. State, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

The pair represents the second time in three recruiting cycles that Penn State has received commitments from high school teammates (Kobe and Kalen King of Detroit in 2021).

Penn State is in the process of building one of its finest recruiting classes since Franklin was hired in 2014. The 16-man class includes 10 four-star prospects, including Chartiers Valley cornerback Lamont Payne. The ‘23 class is ranked sixth in the nation by Rivals — second in the Big Ten to No. 2 Ohio State — after earning a No. 7 national ranking last year.

The only time Penn State’s class was ranked higher under Franklin was 2018 when Micah Parsons, Jahan Dotson and Pat Freiermuth signed letters of intent and the Nittany Lions finished with a No. 5 ranking.