Friday Mailbag: Could Ohio State go after Penn State commit Drew Allar?

The calendar has finally turned to August, which means Penn State won't be able to host recruits on campus until the season starts in September.

After an incredible month of July, James Franklin and his staff have to be elated with their class, which ranks No. 1 in the nation currently. Last month's success also allows them to focus even more of their time on the current roster as preseason practice begins.

However, recruiting never stops, which means there's still plenty to discuss in regards to the top remaining prospects in the Class of 2022, and that's what was on the mind of fans Thursday when questions were submitted via Twitter.

Blue White Illustrated's Ryan Snyder discusses that and much more below.

I don't cover Ohio State every day, so I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on what Ryan Day and his staff are thinking, but I did reach out to some friends in Columbus about this and I get the impression that Ohio State will attempt to find another quarterback for the Class of 2022. The problem for the Buckeyes is that it has to be the right guy, and every four and five-star quarterback for the class is already committed elsewhere.

That's why many believe that Drew Allar makes the most sense, being that he's the top quarterback in Ohio and has consistently improved his stock throughout the summer. With that said, Allar has also made it clear to myself and colleagues over the past week that he's not interested in Ohio State, adding that he's strictly focused on his upcoming season before he enrolls at Penn State come Jan. 2022.

I actually reached out to Allar about it last night and he wanted to let Penn State fans know that he's "totally locked in" and that there's "no where else I'd rather be."

I've learned to never say never in the world of recruiting, but Allar has also been open and honest with me throughout the entire process. I know many of my colleagues would say the same. I have no reason to not believe anything he's ever told me.

Right now it feels 50/50 to me. From what I've gathered, Maryland is Penn State's top competitor here, although I still don't want to rule out Rutgers. Greg Schiano and his staff have recruited well, but I get the impression that Andre Roye is trending towards the Lions and Terps.

With Roye not expected to decide until Sept. 22 though, there's a lot that has to play out still. He's also difficult to read. Roye doesn't really open up to many people, and that's not just the media. Even sources at the schools recruiting him have mentioned to myself and colleagues that he keeps his thoughts to himself.

I will say that following the Lasch Bash, I was led to believe that his parents like the idea of him coming to Penn State. I'm not sure if they prefer PSU over Maryland, but I don't get the impression that this will be a situation where his family tries to steer him one way or the other. From what I understand, this will truly be Andre's decision.

As for the second question, I don't expect early trends in the 2023 class to impact Roye all that much. The same is true for Rivals250 tackle Aamil Wagner, who isn't expected to decide in the near future but ranks high on the staff's board.

If they can add either player, they will.

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I think 27 would be the absolute cap, but even that feels unrealistic to me. I could see a situation where this class climbs to 25, and even 26 wouldn't surprise me, but with 4.5 months to go until these guys can sign, history tells us that Penn State will probably lose one of its committed players in the months ahead.

That's the case for just about every school, and when you add in the fact that this class hasn't really been able to attend games, I'd personally be surprised if one or two committed players don't, at the very least, attend games elsewhere this fall.

When it's all said and done, I think 25 will be the number. They're basically at their cap now, but I still think we'll see a few commitments within the months ahead. My guess would be two more commitments and one more decommitment.

To answer the second part, if they finish with 25 high school prospects, I still think that would leave they a spot or two to pursue players in the portal, but honestly, that's something the staff will worry about when the time comes.

This upcoming season will impact so much in that regard. Current players will surely end up leaving, so they'll focus on that come December and into 2022. Right now, it's all about adding the best prep prospects that you can.

I don't feel very good about Penn State's chances with Darrius Clemons at the moment. First off, he has no plans to decide in the near future, and that just doesn't work when you consider that this class is basically full.

I expect a handful of the staff's top targets to decide before Clemons, and with four wide receivers already committed if you include Cristian Driver, it's not a position that the staff has to add players at. I know Phil Trautwein wants to add another offensive tackle, and you can also argue positionally that defensive end and linebacker make more sense if you have to be selective, which they do.

On top of that, I think both Oregon and Auburn are right there with Penn State. If I had to pick a school today, I would actually lean towards Auburn. A few colleagues of mine believe Oregon is trending, but I think one of the main reasons he's waiting to decide is because he wants to see how new Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin adapts to the SEC.

If Penn State was the true favorite here, I think he'd be part of this class by now.

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