While the Nittany Lions lost Layton Von Brandt earlier in the recruiting cycle and were not the favorites to land him again, many expected him to sign with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. However, after moving up his commitment date to today, he went a highly unexpected route. Instead of following several other four star O-linemen to South Bend, Von Brandt committed to the Auburn Tigers. While Penn State will be disappointed that he did not stick with his early intentions, it somewhat feels like a win after Penn State lost out on many players to the Fighting Irish on the recruiting trail.
For now, this leaves the Nittany Lions without a four star lineman amongst their class, but still enough talent at the position to get by. With local recruits in David Tarawallie and Ryan Robbins, Campbell could have two bookend tackles of the future. They also have some interior talent with Jon Sassic and Owen Reilly. However, Notre Dame being spurned is the bigger takeaway as they looked to continue to stockpile at the position. Auburn’s win is perhaps a testament to their persistence in recruiting him and both Penn State and Notre Dame landing other commits at the position, thus losing focus on Von Brandt.
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Now all eyes will be on another prospect, this time three star Lucas Rhoa, who locked down an official visit. For now, the sting of losing Von Brandt hurts just a little less than potentially expected.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State miss out on former O-line commit
