What On3’s Ryan Snyder said about Penn State’s 2024 recruits ahead of National Signing Day

The beginning of the early signing period is coming and Penn State has 25 commits who are set to put pen to paper. The Nittany Lions should have all 25 players in the class signed during the period, which runs from Wednesday through Friday.

We spoke to On3’s Ryan Snyder, a recruiting analyst covering the Nittany Lions, to break down the class and the impact it can have on the program.

Here’s everything he said about the future Penn Staters.

Centre Daily Times: What are the strengths of the class?

Ryan Snyder: I would start with the overall depth. What I mean by that is, positionally they got pretty much all of the needs that they had. Whether it’s offense or defense, they don’t have any glaring holes. That’s also a big reason why you’re not seeing any late movement here with Penn State. They feel very good about the guys they have at each position, what they bring and how that translates moving forward.

As far as talent, it’s another very strong offensive line class. Penn State over the years has done its best to find flexibility along the offensive line — guys that can play inside or out. That’s good, but they’ve also learned that they need true tackles, guys that are absolutely going to anchor on the outside. They have two of those guys without a doubt in Eagan Boyer and Garrett Sexton. Both are true offensive tackles who can move well. Then you add in a guy like Cooper Cousins, who is top 150 pretty much everywhere and two more in Donovan Harbour and Caleb Brewer. That’s back to back classes that (offensive line coach Phil Trautwein) has put together that’s really strong on the offensive line.

I think they’ve got another quality quarterback in Ethan Grunkemeyer. Grunk has a lot of potential. There’s a real good chance he contributes at Penn State. Two more quality running backs as well. Quinton Martin is one of the most coveted players in the class. You add in Corey Smith, who wasn’t able to play a lot this year with a broken collarbone, but when he did get on the field in the playoffs, his film really popped.

Defensive ends, too, with Mylachi Williams and Jaylen Harvey. Two more stud prospects off the edge that bring all of the qualities that (Penn State defensive line coach Deion Barnes) and Penn State has wanted for a long time.

One other thing I should add is Liam Andrews, too. They need a quality defensive tackle. Somebody who, not just ranks really highly, but also has all of the intangibles when it comes to size, strength and speed. They’ve gotten good defensive tackles over the years but Andrews brings a little bit more of that pop at that position.

CDT: What are the weaknesses of the class?

Snyder: I think everybody wants to talk about wide receiver. Penn State needs wide receivers who are going to contribute right away. That’s not a secret, they’re trying to address that right now in the portal. I think the three receivers they have right now — Josiah Brown, Tyseer Denmark, Peter Gonzalez — all three of them have everything you want as far as different qualities, but are any of them able to get on the field right away?

I think if you’re trying to find a weakness that you wanted to address immediately, that may be one of them because I don’t know if any of them are instant, get on the field, play 200+ snaps next year kind of guys. That stands out.

CDT: Who in the class can make an early impact?

Snyder: You always look at the highest ranked guys and try to figure out which ones can get on the field. Well, a guy like Luke Reynolds, who is the top rated guy for On3, is a tight end — which is obviously a very deep room there moving forward. Quinton Martin, he’s got all of the talent in the world, but how much is he going to play behind Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton and everybody there? I think with Martin they can find ways to get him on the field. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s contributing with special teams.

Maybe if you look at the corners with Jon Mitchell and Antoine Belgrave-Shorter. Are they going to come in and start every game or anything like that? No, I don’t see that happening. But could one of them emerge and play some special teams, maybe get a couple hundred snaps, could they get on the field and not redshirt? That wouldn’t surprise me.

But when you look at Penn State’s top talent overall, they’re all at positions that either take time or are pretty loaded with talent at the moment.

CDT: Who are the lower rated players you are high on?

Snyder: Antoine Belgrave-Shorter has to be the first guy mentioned. Just from our conversations with people at his high school, conversations with people who have been involved with his recruitment, I don’t really understand why he’s a 3-star. He’s put together some excellent tape and is a guy that, again, if he played a couple hundred snaps next year in seven or eight games I wouldn’t be surprised by that at all.

I think their defensive linemen have gotten overlooked a little bit. Xavier Gilliam and De’Andre Cook, they’re both 3-star guys. Gilliam had an incredible second half of the season at Quince Orchard playing alongside multiple Division I players on the team. He really came on after transferring there. It’s understandable that his first half would not be as productive as his second half. And then Cook, 6-4, 260, he’s one of those guys that flashed athletically. Those guys pop out right now.

I think Peter Gonzalez is underrated. He did a lot of good things this season coming back from injury. People were always wondering about his speed. He comes up to Penn State and crushes it at camp. He runs some great 100-meter times in track. Any questions about Gonzalez athletically coming back from a knee injury, those are absolutely gone. If you put on the film, you can look at some of the splash plays he made.