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Multiple Early Enrollees Expected in 2018

Penn State should have multiple players enrolling in January, including LB Jesse Luketa.
Penn State should have multiple players enrolling in January, including LB Jesse Luketa.

Penn State’s Class of 2018 still has a ways to go, but for those that have already committed, there’s still another a decision to be made.

Over the past week, it became clear that the Nittany Lions currently have three prospects in line for early enrollment. Back in February, linebacker Jesse Luketa, from Mercyhurst Prep in Erie, Pa., announced shortly after his commitment that he planned to graduate early, but two other prospects, four-star tight end Zack Kuntz, from Camp Hill, Pa., and three-star safety Isaiah Humphries, from Sachse, Texas, announced over the weekend that they also plan to begin their Penn State careers in January.

“I’ve always had it in the back of my mind to graduate early, mainly because I’ve seen friends of my brothers do it in the past and it worked out great for them,” said Kuntz. “I’ve taken extra credits each year so I could put myself in a position where I could enroll early if I wanted to.

“Since I committed, I’ve spoken to the coaching staff about the possibility of early enrollment, but it's something I talked about month after month with my family. We felt it would benefit me best to follow through and go early.”

Humphries had a similar take on the situation.

“I’ve been planning to graduate early for about a year or so now,” he said. “Since I took a lot of high school classes in middle school, it wasn't hard for me to change my schedule in order to graduate early.

“I feel like if I go there early, I'll be able learn the defense, get my body right and get classes out of the way. During the season then, things won't be as cluttered for me as they will be for the guys that are just coming in. Plus, if I go early, I'll be able to get my degree faster.”

Just like Kuntz and Humphries, Luketa believes that early enrollment will help ease the transition from high school to college, noting that it’ll be easier to get off to a strong academic start during the offseason. However, he also sees it benefiting his game on the field.

“I feel like it’ll be a huge factor for my development because I get to jumpstart my transition from the high school level to the collegiate level,” Luketa said. “Not only will it be easier for me to adjust to all the school work in the offseason, but I’ll also begin working with the team in the weight room. That’ll help me get an understanding for what to expect come camp.

“It will also allow me to soak in information from veterans like Cabinda and Bowen. Of course, I get to spend a lot of quality time with Coach Pry, too.”

By the time December’s signing period rolls around, these three will likely be joined by one or two other prospects in Penn State’s class. As of now, the majority of players that are currently committed have already confirmed that they won’t enroll early, but one of them, defensive end Nick Tarburton, is still considering the option. In fact, he’s meeting with advisors at his school today.

“This came up in early May, after Coach Pry and Coach Spencer came down to my school,” said Tarburton, who plays at Pennridge in Perkasie, Pa. “There’s a pretty good chance I will (enroll early). I have a meeting (Tuesday) about that with my principal, assistant principal and guidance counselor.”

The Nittany Lions are expected to sign close to 25 players in the Class of 2018. Early enrollees can only be backdated to previous classes if the current class (2018) goes over the 25 scholarship limit. As of now, that’s unlikely.

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