BREAKING: Mustipher Joins PSU's 2018 Class

After picking up commitment No. 21 in the Class of 2018 Friday from offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, Penn State added another lineman to its class Monday, this time on the other side of the ball, as defensive tackle PJ Mustipher announced his commitment to head coach James Franklin earlier today.

A four-star prospect from McDonogh in Owings Mills, Md., Mustipher is the younger brother of Notre Dame offensive lineman Sam Mustipher. Just like his older sibling, the younger Mustipher was one of Maryland’s most coveted prospects, earning 16 scholarship offers over the past two seasons. Penn State, Alabama, Maryland, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Virginia Tech ultimately emerged as his top schools.

Mustipher earned an offer from Franklin and his staff back in March 2015. He took a half-dozen visits to Penn State, three of which have been in the past four months. The most recent visit was for the Lasch Bash barbecue on July 15. While on campus, Mustipher also participated in Penn State’s annual whiteout camp, which took place the night before.

A member of the Rivals250, Mustipher is now the 16th prospect to commit to Penn State that holds a four-star rating. That's the most Penn State has ever secured since the start of Rivals.com, beating out PSU's Class of 2016, which had 14 four-star prospects and one five-star. He’s the ninth defensive prospect to join this year's class class, third along the defensive line, joining defensive tackle Judge Culpepper and defensive end Dorian Hardy.

The Nittany Lions are expected to add at least one more defensive lineman in the 2018 class, possibly two. Defensive line coach Sean Spencer may not have to wait long for his next addition, as Cincinnati native Aeneas Hawkins is expected to make his commitment some time this week. A four-star defensive tackle, Hawkins announced two weeks ago that he’s down to Penn State and Cincinnati. You can read more about Hawkins' upcoming commitment HERE.