Former Penn State commit Marcus Stokes chooses college home; Christian Veilleux talks Pitt pick: Newsstand
Penn State news, notes, and updates for Feb. 2 include a former commit’s college pick, an update on a one-time Lion, and more.
It’s time to dive into Thursday’s top tweets and headlines about the Nittany Lions and college athletics.
Penn State tweets of the day
We start with news about former Penn State verbal commitment Marcus Stokes. The Ponte Vera Beach, Fla., Class of 2023 quarterback who changed his Nittany Lions commitment to Florida last summer had his scholarship withdrawn by the Gators in November after a recorded social media video of him singing a song in which he used a racial slur became public.
On Wednesday, Division II program West Florida announced it was bringing Stokes into its program as part of its signing class.
An Elite 11 participant, Stokes finished with a three-star rating in the On3 Consensus rankings.
In other news, former Penn State quarterback Christian Veilleux spoke to reporters for the first time as a member of the Pittsburgh program after transferring to the Panthers in December. He will vie with fellow transfer and former Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec for the starting job under center.
“I wanted to go somewhere I could be the starter and take the program to an ACC championship and a national championship,” Velleiux said, according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. “So, yeah, I absolutely believe that I get a chance to compete, and I want to win.”
Finally, for this section, Penn State picked up its final high school addition in the Class of 2023 on Wednesday from Maryland four-star offensive tackle Chimdy Onoh.
Headlines of the day
State of Penn State: The Offensive Line: Wogenrich, SI
Picking poison, Penn State croaks at No. 1 Purdue, 80-60: Bauer, BWI
Penn State football’s Rose Bowl Trophy to display at Penn State All-Sports Museum: Ripchik, Daily Collegian
Penn State gets high-value project in Chimdy Onoh: Film Room: Carr, BWI
PSU among teams in good position ahead of 2023 season: FOX Sports
Penn State adds Colorado assistant director of player personnel D.J. Bryant to recruiting department: Pickel, BWI
To win national title, Lions have to overcome this major obstacle: Giger, DKPittsburghSports
Quote of the day
“As a head coach, I would say that [Franklin] had a big impact because he contacts me a lot compared to all the other head coaches,” said Onoh. “That was a big factor because I could really tell how much the school valued me just from the head coach being that excited about you. He just shows his excitement all the time. He was always talking to me, calling me, making sure I’m good.
“[Trautwein] also contacted me a lot. He was coming to my games and coming to my school and visited a lot. He was always making sure I’m comfortable, answering my questions and stuff like that. We talked a lot about all the stuff we could be doing if I ended up coming up with him.”
