Could Penn State welcome back Marcus Stokes to the Class of 2023?
If you ask Penn State head coach James Franklin how many quarterbacks he would like to have on his roster, he will tell you anywhere between three and five. After the departures of Sean Clifford and Christian Veilleux, Penn State will have a pair of freshmen returning to represent the team’s only returning quarterbacks with Drew Allar and Beau Pribula. But Penn State is adding Jaxon Smolik to the program as a late-blooming prospect in the Class of 2023, giving Penn State three quarterbacks on the roster going into 2023. Still, the Nittany Lions will likely be on the market to add at least one more quarterback in 2023, and one possible addition could still come through the recruiting process.
Enter Marcus Stokes, a four-star talent out of Florida who at one point was committed to Penn State in the Class of 2023. In fact, it is because Stokes eventually decommitted from Penn State that caused Franklin and his staff to bring in Smolik as its quarterback in the Class of 2023. Stokes flipped his commitment from Penn State to Florida but the Gators ultimately pulled his scholarship offer after a controversial video of Stokes went viral. And now, Stokes could come back to Penn State as a result.
The On3 prediction machine has been leaning pretty hard on Penn State once Stokes became available again with a 66.3% chance of joining the Nittany Lions. But the prediction machine is a bit difficult to trust at times and could change at any moment. And given the nature of Stokes’ situation, there are no crystal ball predictions on the board at 247Sports. Forecasting where Stokes goes after committing to Penn State and then Florida and having a scholarship offer pulled for a negative viral video is difficult. Stokes has baggage that any program bringing him in now will have to address to some degree. Kids are dumb and will do dumb things. Stokes isn’t the first nor will he be the last. But the content of Stokes that resulted in his scholarship pulled is a PR issue that must be addressed in this day and age.
Whether or not Penn State gives Stokes a second chance remains to be seen, but there is no question he fills the hole Penn State is looking to plug. Although, at this point, maybe Franklin would prefer to add a more veteran presence to the quarterback room through the transfer portal. Allar got some good opportunities to play last season but there is no question the position is very raw on meaningful experience going into 2023, even with terrific upside potential in Allar. The quarterback position is a legitimate concern for 2023 even if just focusing on the depth.
Adding Stokes helps the depth, but the experience factor is still lacking if that ends up being the case.
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Penn State football locks in Class of 2023
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Where did the players who decommitted from Penn State end up?
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