Over the course of four weeks of this off-season, Penn State experienced nearly 20 player moves related to the Transfer Portal, the NFL’s 2021 Draft and an NCAA offer of additional eligibility for seniors in 2020. The program finds another crucial moment for development staff this weekend, receiving seven new freshman scholarship holders.
“We really just want to get out there and help. We talk about it all the time,” striker Landon Tengwall said. “We just want to get on campus and help put this program back on top of the Big Ten.”
Tengwall is the highest-rated member of a 2021 Nittany Lions recruiting class that is likely to remain incomplete with the traditional February Signature Day still ahead. As currently built, it is a collection that includes 15 candidates who signed in December, and essentially half of the group is going to Happy Valley for enrollment in January, after high school graduation.
After a season at Penn State that featured a historically brutal opening period and ended with a four-game winning streak, these newbies are committed to doing their part to help build toward future success.
“I think it added a little bit of motivation and ambition for us,” the quarterback Christian Veilleux said. “Watching the guys go 0-5 was difficult – I will not lie. We didn’t like it, but we knew that our class would have the opportunity to come in and make a difference. We don’t want that to happen again and we set goals for ourselves. I don’t think anyone really thought about decompressing all season. Everyone got closer and closer, so our class is very solid. “
Tengwall and Veilleux are among the main attractions of an initial registration group that features representatives from five states and two nations – Veilleux is the latest product on Penn State’s impressive Canadian pipeline. The rest of the freshman additions will join them later this year.
Listed in alphabetical order, here is a player-by-player summary of the newest Lions of Nittany ready to start their university careers …