Class of 2022 tight end Kolt Pearce earns No. 2 offer from Penn State
Offer is first Power Five offer from head coach James Franklin's Nittany Lions for three-star Baltimore, MD tight end
State College, Pennsylvania:
While 5-2 (2-2, Big Ten) Penn State suffered a heartbreaking and forgettable loss to heavy underdog 3-5 (2-3) Illinois 20-18 in the NCAA’s first-ever nine OT game, seventh-year head coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions picked up a win on the recruiting trail when they offered Kolt Pearce, an underrated, three-star tight end hailing from Gilman High School in Baltimore, MD.
Penn State was the No. 2 school to extend an offer to Pearce, following Navy.
Division One schools from across the United States have shown interest in the 6-foot-6, 196-pound athlete, including FBS schools Akron, Arizona State, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Houston, Maryland, Northwestern, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest, along with Brown, Columbia, Connecticut, Dartmouth, Deleware, Penn, Princeton, Harvard, and Sacred Heart of the FCS.
Pearce poses with Penn State tight ends coach, Ty Howle.
The senior is notably speedy for his massive height, recording a 4.78 40-yard dash time.
He’s also a two-sport star. During his winters, he plays power forward and small forward for the Greyhounds, an all-boys private school that is a perennial contender in Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA)’s Class A division.
Pearce said that he was grateful for his first Power Five scholarship offer from the local Nittany Lions, their State College, PA-based campus conveniently located just 160 miles outside of his high school home in Baltimore.
Pearce shares an embrace with Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin.
“It’s a school I’ve thought about attending since I was young. It meant a lot when Coach Franklin and his staff extended the offer,” Pearce said.
The Nittany Lions, a prestigious program holding the No. 8 most all-time wins in college football, play in the nation’s No. 2 largest-capacity stadium, according to the school’s website.
Playing at Penn State could be a huge leap for Pearce, and regardless, the Nittany Lions’ decision to offer the student-athlete should have other schools knocking on the door soon in hopes that he’ll sign the ‘dotted line’.
“I love the tradition and atmosphere of the program,” he said.