With Penn State’s Class of 2022 all but finished, this year’s Lasch Bash barbecue was an opportunity for James Franklin and his staff to impress many of the region’s top 2023 prospects.

One of those players was cornerback Lamont Payne from Chartiers Valley outside Pittsburgh. Back in June, Payne attended the Whiteout Camp and put together one of the better workouts that the staff oversaw this summer. He already held an offer from the Nittany Lions going into that camp, and now he’s firmly one of Terry Smith’s top targets at the position.

“It was cool seeing everyone together, both recruits and commits. [The commits] are a close-knit group, and we did a scavenger hunt with those guys, so it allowed us to see what they’re all about,” Payne said. “It also was a lot fun just seeing the community during that. We actually saw Mrs. [Sue] Paterno out by the library. We’d go riding past a group of people and they’d be cheering for us and stuff like that. I thought it was really cool seeing the community supporting us, no matter what you’re doing, whether it’s playing football or just doing this scavenger hunt.”