Three Penn State commits who are set to outplay their ratings this season
Rivals updated its top 250 for the Class of 2022 last week, and as most of you know by now, Penn State's summer of success on the recruiting trail was rewarded, as the Nittany Lions added two more players to the Rivals250, giving them 10 overall. The class also features 14 four- or five-star commitments total.
That's the most since 2018, when the Nittany Lions signed 18 four- or five-star players and finished fifth overall in the nation. Currently, Penn State ranks second-overall behind Notre Dame, but with schools like Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M all having 15 commitments or less currently, it'll be difficult for James Franklin and his staff to finish as high as they did four years ago.
However, a top-10 class is still realistic, and their chances of finishing that high would only improve if a few of the players who currently hold a three-star rating are given an opportunity to move up in the rankings this fall. Below are a few players who I believe could outplay their current ratings in the months ahead.
Johnson has already put up some impressive stats, totaling 925 yards receiving on just 25 receptions during Magna Vista's spring season. Even more impressive: he scored 13 touchdowns! That's a score every other catch, so we know he can put up numbers on the field.
Stats only tell so much, however. All of these players are on a different level than the majority of their peers, so that's why schools also prefer to work them out in person when they get the opportunity, and Penn State was happy that they did. Back in June, Johnson not only ran a 4.47-second 40, but he also had a 4.18-second 20-yard shuttle. Camps and schools also use the broad jump to measure explosion, and Johnson excelled at that too, broad jumping 9 feet, 10 inches. He also went 31 feet, 5 inches in the triple broad jump.
For some comparison, his 40 and shuttle numbers are nearly identical to Kaden Saunders, and his broad jump numbers are better than all but two of Penn State's committed players. More on that below.
Related: Three must-see high school games for Penn State fans
Miller is expected to be a cornerback for the Nittany Lions, which makes him hard to evaluate because he didn't play the position last season at Fernandina Beach High School outside of Jacksonville, Fla. With Miller being the best player on his team, he focused on quarterback, running a triple-option.
With that said, you can take a few things away from his film, and the first thing that grabs your attention is his hips. Every football fan knows you have to be able to switch direction incredibly quickly playing cornerback and Miller's film shows us that he can absolutely do that. He's also played defensive back at a few camps before, which helped during the evaluation process.
We also have some very good testing numbers from Miller. Last summer, he ran a 4.59-second 40-yard dash at the Jacksonville UC Report Camp, and then posted a 10-foot, 6-inch broad jump at the Miami Under Armour Camp this past March. Add in a 4.22-second shuttle, plus the fact that his 40-time has reportedly improved over the past year, and Miller has all the numbers that suggest he has four-star potential.
He also made a move this summer, transferring to Trinity Christian Academy, who won Florida's 3A state championship last season. Miller's now on a team that'll face five of Florida's top 50 high school programs in their 10-game schedule, including a showdown with American Heritage, which features elite 2023 wide receivers Brandon Inniss and Santana Fleming.
Miller is going to get an opportunity to show scouts that he can defend with the nation's best. If he rises to the occasion, he deserves a four-star rating, in my opinion.
Winston just moved up from a 5.6 three-star to 5.7 during the most recent update last week, but I still believe there's an opportunity for him to improve even more. Last season was basically a wash for Winston, as DeMatha played just three games in March, but he did show that he improved in a variety of areas that bode well for his potential moving forward.
He also performed well at the Under Armour Camp in Baltimore in April. The only negative from that camp was a 4.82-second 40, but as we discussed previously in the Lions Den, a lot of top prospects ran slow 40s at that camp, running into a gusty headwind. Our sources suggest that he really runs closer to a 4.6, which is fine for a safety his age. Winston also ran a 4.45-second shuttle that day, plus a 10-foot, 4-inch broad jump. His reach is also the best of any of offensive or defensive skill player in Penn State's class at 32.63.
Playing at DeMatha, he'll also get the opportunity to test himself against some of the region's best prospects, including future Georgia Tech tight end Nate Kurisky (Gonzaga), Cal commit Jaiven Plummer (Episcopal), as well as two really good up-and-coming receivers in Tyseer Denmark (Roman Catholic) and Elijah Moore (Good Counsel).
Penn State loves his aggression. He's great at reading the quarterback and making plays. If he can continue to show steady improvement, which he did last season in limited games, he's going to get the opportunity to face some really good competition. That helps a lot when Rivals is deciding who deserves to move up.
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