Every time a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from 1-10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE SITUATION
Nick Elksnis worked out at Penn State last summer, landed an offer from the Nittany Lions and only a few days later he made his pledge.
At the time, it was a major commitment from a 2021 standout before he started his junior season and it was further proof that coach James Franklin could dip into the Southeast for elite talent as Elksnis is a high three-star tight end from Jacksonville (Fla.) Episcopal.
After many months of being committed, and seeing Penn State load up at tight end in its 2020 recruiting haul, Elksnis backed off his pledge to the Nittany Lions on Sunday and it now looks like Florida has emerged as the team to beat in his recruitment. He has more than 20 offers.
Penn State signed four-star standout tight end Theo Johnson and three-star Tyler Warren in its 2020 class and it’s a loaded position on its roster now.
Elksnis is a talented prospect and one of the top tight ends in the state of Florida, although the No. 1 prospect at that position in the state is already committed to the Gators in Gage Wilcox from Tampa (Fla.) Jefferson.
Maybe more importantly, Elksnis’ pledge was another step for Penn State to recruit in the Southeast, but his loss could hurt later on.
LOCAL REACTION
Elksnis is going to be a great player, so from that perspective, it always hurts to lose a player that the coaching staff really wanted. However, his decision to open up his recruitment wasn’t a major surprise.
The Jacksonville, Fla., resident came to Penn State for the first time for a camp last July and ended up committing just four days later. Since then, Franklin and his assistants have also signed two more tight ends, including Johnson, who finished as one of the top-ranked players at the position in 2020. When you add in the fact that Penn State now has four tight ends with at least three years of eligibility remaining - three of whom were Rivals250 prospects - this is a position that fans feel good about moving forward, regardless of who signs in 2021. - Ryan Snyder, BlueWhiteIllustrated.com
Sting factor: 3
NATIONAL REACTION
Elksnis is going to be a good player, likely for the Florida Gators, but this is not an area of concern at all for Penn State with two talented incoming freshmen and a roster with two others led by Pat Freiemuth who is an All-American. This was expected and is a very low sting factor. - Mike Farrell, Rivals National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 2
