Nolan Rucci, former 5 star at Wisky, whose dad played at PSU, and Diego Pounds, who was down to PSU and UNC are both now in the portal. Need 1 more Receiver, DE, C, and always need OL/DT. Rucci only played in 3 games last year so I am not sure if he just didn't live up to his 5* billing or was hurt, or what. They certainly could be on the radar.
Rucci and Pounds to portal
- Thread starter live4now
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Penn State needs at least 2 more wide receivers. They have Fleming but need 2 more WRs to replace the other two 2023 WR starters.
Rucci .. could be one of the many over rated legacy players we see every year but I really don't know for sure if he got hurt... Any Badger fans out there that might know?
Or, the other possibility is his OL skill set doesn't meet their new scheme under the OC that came from UNC to Wisconsin.
Possible.... With so little playing time, it is hard to judge. Haven't seen him im play at all...
Need at least 2 more WR's. And CB is the least experienced unit going into Spring practice, a position that is hard to be successful at without some experienced players which is why I believe next to WR that CB is the highest priority in the Portal.
Since he graduated from my high school I really hoped he would go to Penn State. Also remember the flack Franklin took for not offering his older brother, Hayden. Thought that criticism was off base since you run the risk of Hayden committing and Nolan deciding to go elsewhere
Don’t know why he hadn’t played much after 3 years—perhaps he was overrated. Not an OL expert but watched him play in the bowl game after the starter got hurt and thought he played okay especially since Wisconsin was behind and throwing every play. I think he would be worth a shot if he is interested.
He hasn't touched the field since he got there.
He was injured at times, and he was always a longterm project - but maybe we take him as depth? Always need OTs, but I'd roll with Shelton/Williams and let Rucci back them up.
Pounds on the other hand, started for UNC, and seems to still have untapped potential - I'd pitch the Olu path and hope he considers development over the bag he's about to get from an SEC school.
He was injured at times, and he was always a longterm project - but maybe we take him as depth? Always need OTs, but I'd roll with Shelton/Williams and let Rucci back them up.
Pounds on the other hand, started for UNC, and seems to still have untapped potential - I'd pitch the Olu path and hope he considers development over the bag he's about to get from an SEC school.
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Badgers have a solid LT who has started every game the past couple years as All B10 honorable mention, Jack Nelson a 5* himself (on 247), who decided to come back for another year. Now if Rucci was good enough, you would think there could be some shuffling, but seems like he's been buried there. Definitely worth a look IMO.
Rucci is an unknown. We would need some Wisky intell.
On our O-Line we have Shelton, Loane, Dawkins, Williams, Donkoh, Rulli, Israel-Achumba and Onoh. This is from Our Lads.
Williams was a 98 rated player so he has to be in the mix to start at tackle. And hopefully he is solid. Donkoh is a 4 star 90 rated and was listed as 2nd team so he could start at guard. Shelton and Nelson have played.
We need some help so I am sure we are looking at Rucci. We also need to look at Pounds. Pounds is visiting Ole Miss this weekend so Kiffin has his bag of money ready and it could be a done deal. The guy earned a starting job as a Sophomore so he must be solid.
CB and WR are the other big areas of need. At WR you could say we have no one except Fleming and he is not a slam dunk #1 but will need to be our #1 which is an upgrade vs KLS in my opinion. I know that is not saying much but I am very happy we have Fleming.
As for CB, the guys we have did not show much in the Peach Bowl. They will develop but we can't rely on that. I see two guys undecided at this point:
1) Chris Graves from Miami. A Freshman, was a 93 rated 4 star, 6'0 175
2) Brandon Calloway from Purdue. Redshirt Sophomore 6'2 175. 3 star 81.5 rated out of high school.
Not sure either of these guys are the ticket or even would be interested. For the guys we have Miller (Sophomore) was a 93 4 star and Zion Tracy (Freshman) was an 88 3 star so both decent and maybe they develop. We also have Elliot Washington a Freshman 93 rated. Washington is behind Tracy on the depth chart, both class of '23 and not sure if he played in the Peach bowl but I know Tracy played. So a decent group in terms of high school ratings but we clearly need some portal guys.
On our O-Line we have Shelton, Loane, Dawkins, Williams, Donkoh, Rulli, Israel-Achumba and Onoh. This is from Our Lads.
Williams was a 98 rated player so he has to be in the mix to start at tackle. And hopefully he is solid. Donkoh is a 4 star 90 rated and was listed as 2nd team so he could start at guard. Shelton and Nelson have played.
We need some help so I am sure we are looking at Rucci. We also need to look at Pounds. Pounds is visiting Ole Miss this weekend so Kiffin has his bag of money ready and it could be a done deal. The guy earned a starting job as a Sophomore so he must be solid.
CB and WR are the other big areas of need. At WR you could say we have no one except Fleming and he is not a slam dunk #1 but will need to be our #1 which is an upgrade vs KLS in my opinion. I know that is not saying much but I am very happy we have Fleming.
As for CB, the guys we have did not show much in the Peach Bowl. They will develop but we can't rely on that. I see two guys undecided at this point:
1) Chris Graves from Miami. A Freshman, was a 93 rated 4 star, 6'0 175
2) Brandon Calloway from Purdue. Redshirt Sophomore 6'2 175. 3 star 81.5 rated out of high school.
Not sure either of these guys are the ticket or even would be interested. For the guys we have Miller (Sophomore) was a 93 4 star and Zion Tracy (Freshman) was an 88 3 star so both decent and maybe they develop. We also have Elliot Washington a Freshman 93 rated. Washington is behind Tracy on the depth chart, both class of '23 and not sure if he played in the Peach bowl but I know Tracy played. So a decent group in terms of high school ratings but we clearly need some portal guys.
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I could definitely see getting a portal CB, but despite the offensive numbers, I really don’t think the young CBs were that bad in the Peach Bowl. Miller was right there in coverage many times but their QB just made perfect throws. I like Washington’s potential as well.
They are all strong prospects from High School so perhaps some over reaction from the Peach Bowl. Who knows with another year in the program. I wonder why Tracy is ahead of Washington?
Did Dawkins announce he is returning? I seem to recall he was in the Senior last home game picture. Maybe I missed an announcement.
OL usually take 2 -3 years to be ready, so I'm not reading much into Rucci not playing much so far. I want him. At worst he'll be solid depth.
Tyler Donahue reported that Anthony Donkoh who is only a freshman is moving to right tackle. Staff is high on him and he played well there in the Peach Bowl.. Article on 247.
Combine him with Williams and that is a great young nucleus on the O-Line.
Combine him with Williams and that is a great young nucleus on the O-Line.
I thought it was odd that he saw LG snaps as a true freshman. By all accounts, he had tackle written all over him coming in. I thought he did very well in the Peach Bowl, but I have not rewatched it and focused on him.
Apparently he played very well for his first time at tackle. I am optimistic about him and Williams being the nucleus for a good, solid young O-Line.
Yeah. Been wondering about him. Very high ranked recruit. Strong wrestling background which is great for a lineman. Was hoping he would see some action this year
Good question. I forgot about him. He is not listed on the 3 deep on Our Lads but is listed on the official 2023 PSU roster. Did he redshirt this year? He was a big time recruit and should help us next year.
Maybe Rucci comes back to PA as a walkon at PSU. Scholarships seem to be in short supply for PSU and get more dear after each DL decides to return..........
They will find a ship for Rucci if he wants to come. OL is definitely a position of need and Rucci is definitely scholarship material. The kid was a 5 star.
"was" is exactly correct. The staff will evaluate him as to where he is now, if he has developed enough physically to be worth a scholarship given his remaining eligibility. If Rucci in his 3rd year hasn't seen the field at Wisky why should it be a given that in his 2 remaining years of eligibility he could be a big contributor at PSU? This decision by the PSU coaches is not as clear cut as you seem to make it.
Even with losing both Olu and Wallace if Rucci is not NOW better than the young OT's that played in the Peach Bowl (Shelton, Williams,...) it doesn't seem to make sense to bring in Rucci. Nelson can also play OT. Trautwein has been successful in assembling the deepest group of young OT's on the roster that PSU has had in a while including the 2024 class (Onoh, Sexton, Boyer and possibly Brewer) and there are only so many scholarships......
My point is it’s extremely unlikely a former five star is going to go to a school that doesn’t offer him a scholarship. I highly doubt PSU views him that way.
Yep, but he's a FORMER 5 star that couldn't get on the field. As Franklin says, all the high school "stars" go away once players get on the practice field at college. And Rucci is 3 years remove from being a top recruit. So PSU or any other program that recruits at a high level will evaluate his potential to contribute versus that scholarship, and his development during those 3 years will play a big part in that evaluation. And for all we know Trautwein may look at Rucci as not worth that investment given that he only has 2 years to contribute to the program he ends up at, and the fact that PSU seems to have more OT's on the roster and in their developmental pipeline that in recent years past.
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Yeah, but the point stands, former 5 stars don't just "walk on" at their home state school. He either gets a scholarship from Penn state or he goes to 90-100 schools that would give him a full ride without first blush. This kid isn't sticking his parents with $200k of school payments considering his background. He either gets a scholarship at PSU or gets one somewhere else, clearly.
There is next to nothing to evaluate Rucci on unless you kept up with Wisky football.
I think if our staff wants him, they can probably get him.
I don't think he fits a need unless the staff has determined he's fighting for starter reps next year.
He's more likely to end up at Pitt than here IMO, but I have no inside info. Does he have a visit scheduled? Anywhere yet for that matter?
I think if our staff wants him, they can probably get him.
I don't think he fits a need unless the staff has determined he's fighting for starter reps next year.
He's more likely to end up at Pitt than here IMO, but I have no inside info. Does he have a visit scheduled? Anywhere yet for that matter?
Rucci and parents at PSU today.
"Hasn't touched the field." False. Rucci even had a game winning TD this year.
I think they would take both of them.
Well considering he’s at Penn State right now being recruited, it’s safe to assume the staff covets him.
Sorry, but I have to agree with GreginPitt. He has been buried in the depth chart in an offense that really hasn’t done that well for a number of years. Stars mean very little at this point when there’s nothing at the collegiate level to justify giving a scholarship that is in short (or possibly negative) supply.
