Update: Brandon Wimbush committed to Penn State. The Nittany Lions now have 15 commitments, more than half of whom are rated at least four-stars. It is one of the largest and best classes in the country at this early juncture, currently ranking No. 2 behind Alabama on the 247 Sports Composite. Earlier Tuesday, Penn State landed four-star offensive tackle commitment Sterling Jenkins of Pennsylvania.
Brandon Wimbush commits to Penn State: Nittany Lions land blue-chip QB
The four-star signal caller picked Penn State over the Buckeyes and others on Tuesday.
Who is Brandon Wimbush?
He’s one of the top quarterbacks in the Class of 2015 (rising high school seniors) and attends Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter’s Prep. Wimbush is rated as a four-star prospect by 247sports, Rivals, ESPN and Scout, and each considers him one of the top 15 signal-callers in the country. He’s considered a four-star and the fifth-best dual-threat quarterback in the nation by the 247sports composite.
Wimbush is listed at 6’2 and 205 pounds. You can watch his junior highlight film here.
Why is his commitment important?
For starters, he’s a talented prospect who was pursued by a number of high-profile schools (and Boston College). Additionally, quarterback commitments beget more quarterback commitments -- five have committed since Friday, including four-star prospect Brady White pledging to Arizona State.
How would he fit at each of his finalists?
More from our team site
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The Nittany Lions picked up commitments from two quarterbacks in the Class of 2014 -- four-star Michael O'Connor and three-star Trace McSorley -- and Wimbush will likely compete with them (along with D.J. Crook and Austin Whipple) for the starting job once Christian Hackenberg leaves school. Hackenberg, a rising sophomore, still has two years to play before he's eligible to leave for the NFL, which puts Wimbush on track to compete for a starting position as a redshirt freshman.
Ohio State picked up one quarterback in the last recruiting cycle -- three-star Stephen Collier -- and the Buckeyes have just one more year of Braxton Miller before the quarterback position opens up again. That would be just in time for a 2015 QB to arrive, although he'd be joining in-house options Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett.
Miami signed a big-time quarterback in the Class of 2014 -- four-star California gunslinger Brad Kaaya -- and also has current redshirt freshman Kevin Olsen, who is slated to start for the Hurricanes this season after Ryan Williams tore his ACL.
Franklin's schemes at Penn State
Virginia Tech recently turned a big dual-threat quarterback into a potential NFL draft pick with Logan Thomas (although Wimbush isn't quite 6'6). Three-star quarterbacks Andrew Ford and Chris Durkin both signed with the Hokies during the past recruiting cycle, while current starter Brenden Motley (who has yet to see any game time at the college level) has three years of eligibility remaining.
