Penn State football’s 2022 recruiting class is sitting at No. 6 in the nation following the latest commitment by punter Alex Bacchetta on Tuesday evening.
Bacchetta is rated a five-star specialist according to Kohl’s Kicking, he is otherwise an unrated prospects on other recruiting services, although generally those sites do not actively evaluate kickers for star rankings in most cases.
Nevertheless, Penn State’s 2022 cycle continues to hold steady among the top in the nation with 11 verbal commitments. The group is led and headlined so far by four-star receiver Kaden Saunders who is rated the 16th best receiver in the class according to the 247 Network.
While the class has yet to nail down a Top 100 prospect, the Nittany Lions still boast seven different four-star prospects in the haul so far. That figure is five more than the 2021 class, and the most since Penn State’s 2020 cycle that signed 11 prospects with a four-star rating.
As it stands today, Penn State’s 2022 class would be the first for James Franklin and his staff to finish in the Top 10 since the 2018 cycle which was rated sixth best in the nation and second best in the Big Ten. Anything higher than sixth would mark the best recruiting class of the Franklin era. Generally speaking Penn State has hovered in the recruiting rankings in the teens to middle 20s.
So far Penn State’s 2022 class is relatively heavy on the offensive side of the ball with defensive end Ken Talley and safety Tyrece Mills as the only two defensive prospects verbally committed. The Nittany Lions are also slated to welcome to quarterbacks to campus with this class following the commitments from Drew Allar and Beau Pribula.
As far as footprint, five different commitments are from Pennsylvania, receiver Mehki Flowers who the 247 Network ranks the fourth-best prospect in the state, is the highest in-state prospect committed to Penn State at this point. That said, the 247 Network is also projecting commitments from running back Nicholas Singleton and corner Keenan Nelson Jr who are rated the second and third best prospects in the Keystone State respectively.
PA’s top prospect defensive end Enai White has yet to commit to a future program but is generally not expected to land at Penn State.
The 247 Network currently rates Penn State cornerbacks coach Terry Smith as the 10th best recruiter for the 2022 cycle.
