Plans for 2023 junior day beginning to take shape
If you look at Penn State's ever-growing list of official visitors for the Class of 2022, you can't help but notice a trend.
Now that the NCAA has confirmed that high school prospects will again be able to visit with coaches in person, James Franklin and his staff are quickly filling up their calendar, especially for the final three weekends in June. Out of more than two dozen players who have confirmed their plans publicly, only one of them, Pennsylvania native Ryan Brubaker, is set to take his official visit that very first weekend, June 4-6. Everyone else is scheduled to visit June 11-13 or the two weekends that follow.
Now, it's becoming clear why that is, as Blue White Illustrated confirmed this week that Franklin and his staff are planning to host a junior day, which will primarily be made up of prospects in the Class of 2023, for that first Saturday, June 5. In fact, a few players in the region have already confirmed they plan to attend.
Last month, Rivals100 offensive linemann Alex Birchmeier, from Ashburn, Va., confirmed that he planned to be on campus that day. This will be his first true visit to campus, although he did take a self-guided tour of University Park in August. We know he'll also be joined by former Penn State commit and four-star player Mathias Barnwell, as well as Owings Mills, Md., prospect Antonio Tripp.
Barnwell originally committed to the Lions back in June 2020, only to decide this past January that he announced too early. At the time, he was the youngest player to ever verbally commit to the Penn State football program. Since opening everything up, his scholarship count has nearly doubled, surpassing 20 schools. Barnwell also confirmed that he has visits set to Virginia Tech, June 1, and North Carolina, June 12. This would be his third true visit to Penn State, as Barnwell attended a game in 2019, then a junior day in Feb. 2020.
Tripp has also been on campus before, although just like Birchmeier, it wasn't a true visit. Just a week after Birchmeier visited in August, Tripp came to town over Labor Day weekend to see the place for himself.
“I really enjoyed just the atmosphere [around town],” Tripp said at the time. “Like, once I stepped on campus, I just felt it. I felt like a little kid. It was just like a, ‘wow, you’re here man,' kind of moment. I just fell in love. I also loved the campus and all the places around campus. I’m a big guy and there were great food spots all around that my family and I could enjoy. The campus was also just beautiful. Everything was well kept.”
Penn State is considered the early favorite with both Birchmeier and Tripp, and although it's never easy to earn a commitment for a second time, the Nittany Lions are expected to be in the mix with Barnwell throughout his recruitment.
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