North Carolina WR Alex Taylor recaps Penn State official visit

Penn State may have just picked up three commitments at the wide receiver position, but that hasn’t stopped position coach Marques Hagans from being aggressive on the recruiting trail. With Virginia native Carmelo Taylor being the only wide receiver in last year’s class, Penn State plans to stock up at the position in 2024, potentially taking as many as five receivers.

This weekend, the Nittany Lions are hosting two four-star prospects in Jerrae Hawkins and Hardley Gilmore, both of whom play in Florida. However, before those two got on campus, Penn State hosted a midweek official visitor in North Carolina native Alex Taylor.

A native of Greensboro, Taylor earned an offer from Penn State way back in December 2021. Despite that, however, he was never able to visit State College until this past weekend.

“When I first got there, I didn’t really know what to expect. I’ve been hearing good things about their campus and that Coach [James] Franklin is a great guy, a great coach. I’ve been hearing that from everyone, so it was good to experience that,” Taylor said.

“Coach [Danny] O’Brien and Coach Hagans really showed me everything that I needed to know about the school. I also got to sit down with their offensive coordinator and learned a lot about how they plan to use me. That was exciting to see.”

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When asked what stands out about Penn State’s coaches compared to others he met, he mentioned Franklin’s personality.

“Coach Franklin is super funny, super down to earth,” Taylor said. “I wouldn’t say that he has no filter, but he’s really outgoing. I like that a lot. It was easy to get to know him pretty quickly. I felt like I could always be myself around him.

“Coach Hagans offered me when he was at Virginia, too, so I already kind of knew him from before. He also has a good relationship with my high school coaches, so they’ve been telling me about him as well.”

Taylor said he was hosted by current Penn State junior wide receiver Malick Meiga.

“I got to know Meiga well. He’s from Canada and speaks French,” Taylor said. “It was cool learning his background. He showed me some things about campus life and stuff off the field. It was really cool hanging out with him. He’s a super cool guy.”

Most expect Taylor to end up playing in the ACC. Earlier this month, he took official visits to Clemson, N.C. State and Virginia Tech. Now, he’s taking his fifth and final visit to North Carolina this weekend.

Penn State has about a month to edge out those schools. He said this visit certainly helped their chances.

“I would say this visit definitely helped Penn State with my recruiting process. They definitely moved up a bit on board,” Taylor said. “So, we’ll see where it goes. I’m planning to announce my commitment on July 29. We’re doing a ceremony at my school that day.”

Taylor holds a four-star rating in the On3 Industry Rankings, coming in at No. 281 nationally. He’s the eighth-ranked prospect in North Carolina.

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