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Penn State defense land big-time recruit. More coming soon?

frank bodani, york daily record
·3 min read
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Penn State hit big on defense to begin one of its most important 10-day recruiting rushes of the year.

It received a verbal commitment Monday from 6-foot-5, 230-pound defensive end Joseph Mupoyi, who has upped his stock at the St. Thomas More prep school in Oakdale, Connecticut. He picked the Nittany Lions over offers from Auburn, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Ole Miss, Utah and others.

Mupoyi emigrated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and first focused on basketball in the United States. He began realizing his vast football potential at Archbishop Carroll in Washington D.C., before studying at St. Thomas More.

Head coach James Franklin and his staff have added yet another promising defender to its 2023 recruiting class Monday in edge rusher Joseph Mupoyi from the St. Thomas More prep school in Connecticut.
Head coach James Franklin and his staff have added yet another promising defender to its 2023 recruiting class Monday in edge rusher Joseph Mupoyi from the St. Thomas More prep school in Connecticut.

He is the 20th member of a 2023 class that expects to surge back into the national Top 10 leading up to signing day next week.

The Nittany Lions also hope to keep their connection going with Maryland's McDonogh School in a big way again soon.

The Lions relied on four defenders last season who graduated from the private school in Owings Mills, Md. They also now hope to land McDonogh senior Mason Robinson, a defensive end who may flip his verbal commitment from Northwestern.

More:Meet Penn State football's 2023 recruiting class

Robinson, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound edge rusher, is regarded as a 3-star prospect by national recruiting services. He has reported offers from Notre Dame, Tennessee, Oregon, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Penn State and others, though he picked Northwestern and its elite academics last spring.

Robinson spent last weekend at Penn State on an official recruiting trip before making his final decision. He got to watch the Lions practice as they prepare for the Rose Bowl against Utah.

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“Coach Franklin came up to me during practice, and he gave me a nudge and just said, ‘Dude, why you playing hard to get? You know we’re one of the best schools for you,'” Robinson told Blue-White Illustrated. “He said, ‘We produce guys from your high school, and even though they’re from your school, they’re all different. Dani is different from Curtis (Jacobs), Curtis is different from PJ (Mustipher), PJ is different from Dvon (Ellies).’

“He was just saying that, no matter what, they’re all finding success in different ways, and that really stuck with me. I played with these guys. I played with Curtis and Dani (Dennis-Sutton), so I know what it takes to get where they’re at. That was a fun talk that really stuck with me.”

The Lions' 2023 recruiting class appears in line to add even more talent this week.

They are favored to land Robinson and Virginia linebacker Kaveion Keys (6-2, 190 pounds), who recently backed off of his verbal pledge to North Carolina. Keys attends the same Richmond high school, Varina, as did former Penn State do-everything quarterback Michael Robinson.

Keys is an elite 4-star prospects by major recruiting services.

The Lions also are active in the NCAA Transfer Portal, which reopened last week. They also appear favored to land former Kent State star receiver and Pittsburgh-area product Dante Cephas.

Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at  fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on Twitter @YDRPennState.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State football: College football recruiting, James Franklin