Penn State football lands four-star safety King Mack

Story posted June 30, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Alex Rocco

Penn State closed out the month of June with a bang, adding to its impressive 2023 recruiting class.

With four commitments this month, the Nittany Lions scooped up four-star safety King Mack on Thursday afternoon.

Mack is the No. 16 player to join James Franklin’s class and ranks as the No. 122 player in the nation and the seventh-best safety, according to the 247 Sports rankings.

He is the third safety in the Nittany Lions class joining fellow four stars Conrad Hussey and Dakaari Nelson.

Hussey is excited about Mack coming to Happy Valley as the two players are teammates at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida.

The safety took his official visit with the blue and white on Jun. 17 and quickly knew what school was best for him.

“Coach Franklin, he tells everyone coaching is his job, but he loves it so much that he’d do it for free,” Mack said in an interview. “[You don’t hear that] from a coach. When you hear about a head coach, you think money, being the boss of everything, but him saying that he’ll do it for free, that just shows the love he has for not just the sport, but the kids.”

Mack lacks the ideal size for a safety measuring 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, but he makes up for it with his speed, instincts, ball skills, physicality and leadership qualities.

In his junior campaign, playing with Hussey in the secondary, Mack recorded four interceptions en route to capturing a state title in Florida’s second-highest classification.

The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native had 30 offers and took just two official visits to Penn State and Michigan State.

With Mack in the fold, Penn State sits with a top-five class and is second in the conference behind Ohio State.

Alex Rocco is a rising junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email alex.rocco1702@gmail.com.