The Penn State football recruiting class would look a lot better with Tristan Leigh.
Penn State football can win big in the trenches with its 2021 recruitment.
Though James Franklin’s Penn State Nittany Lions have yet to procure a commitment from a five-star recruit in the 247Sports Composite, they have a pair of top-tier offensive lineman seriously looking at coming to State College, including Tristan Leigh out of Fairfax, Virginia.
Leigh is all of 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds. The Robinson Secondary standout is the No. 2 player from Virginia, the No. 3 offensive tackle prospect and the No. 11 player in his entire recruiting class. Though the Clemson Tigers are the leader, Penn State is one of seven Power 5 schools Leigh is very interested in coming to play his college football.
Outside of Clemson and Penn State, Leigh is drawing interest from the LSU Tigers, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Maryland Terrapins and the Ohio State Buckeyes. With 40 official offers, everybody in the country wants to try to sign this guy. Penn State is also very high up on the leaderboard for No. 15 overall player Nolan Rucci. Does Penn State land either tackle?
Tristan Leigh’s commitment means Penn State is ready to win championships.
Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein is Leigh’s primary recruiter. Trautwein is a recent addition to Franklin’s Nittany Lions staff but has already secured the commitment of four-star offensive tackle Landon Tengwall as a secondary recruiter. Before arriving in State College, Trautwein landed a pair of four-star offensive line recruits while with the Boston College Eagles.
While one would think Rucci would be the one recruit Penn State can’t afford to lose, it feels more likely he’ll be coming to State College than Leigh will at that juncture. That’s not to say Penn State should try to get all sorts of powerful in the trenches by landing both, but Rucci is in-state and that makes things much easier than trying to get a five-star’s attention out of his native Virginia.
Another reason Leigh’s commitment over Rucci’s should be prioritized besides in-state/out-of-state vibes and having a higher overall grade is where else Leigh is looking to play his college ball. Going to Clemson, Oklahoma or an SEC is one thing, but going to Maryland or Ohio State in-division could be problematic. Rucci’s other Big Ten team of interest is the Wisconsin Badgers.
Overall, Penn State has the ability to land one, but probably not both of Leigh and Rucci’s commitments. Going with Rucci seems like a safe play. Plus, he’s the size of a grizzly bear at 6-foot-8. However, the last thing Franklin will want is to see Leigh play for Ryan Day in Columbus or for Mike Locksley in College Park, a place Franklin knows all too well as a coordinator.
Leigh to Penn State signifies Franklin’s team is ready to become a serious national title contender.
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