Five-star DE recruit Micah Parsons officially picks Penn State

Penn State received a significant boost to an already excellent recruiting class Wednesday when five-star defensive end Micah Parsons announced he will play his college football with the Nittany Lions.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Parsons announced his decision during a morning program at the Harrisburg High School auditorium and returned his national letter of intent to head coach James Franklin about two hours later on the first day of college football’s early signing period.

Parsons was ranked the nation’s No. 4 player by 247Sports, No. 5 by Rivals and No. 7 by ESPN. He had been the first player to commit to the Nittany Lions’ freshman class of 2018 but withdrew his commitment last April and reopened his recruitment.

Parsons chose Penn State over Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.

The Nittany Lions received another commitment on Wednesday from four-star wide receiver Jahan Dotson of Nazareth (Pa.) High School. Dotson originally had committed to UCLA.

Franklin and his staff received signed letters of intent from all 19 players who had been expected to sign Wednesday, in addition to Parsons and Dotson, as members of the team’s 2018 freshman class.

Parsons revealed his college choice during a two-minute video in which he talked about the other schools he had considered.

“In the end, there’s no other place but home,” he said in the video as he went through the tunnel, opened the south gate and walked onto the field at Beaver Stadium.

After the video ended, Parsons put on a white Penn State baseball cap and high-fived well-wishers in the front rows.

He said the stability of Franklin and the coaching staff “definitely played a big role” in his decision, noting that Franklin and defensive coordinator Brent Pry turned down job offers, though he wasn’t specific.

“The fact that he turned down jobs, and coach Pry [did, too], that shows they’ve got loyalty and faith in the Penn State program,” Parsons said. “That’s someone you want to play for. I don’t want to get to somewhere and then the coach leaves.”

Ohio State had stopped recruiting Parsons, in part because of a self-reported NCAA violation over giving him behind-the-scenes access to a broadcast of ESPN’s “College GameDay” in Columbus.

Penn State received signed national letters of intent Wednesday from its two other five-star recruits – wide receiver Justin Shorter of Monmouth Junction, N.J., and running back Ricky Slade of Woodbridge, Va.

Parsons’ pledge is certain to boost Penn State’s recruiting ranking. The Lions started the day ranked fifth by 247Sports and ESPN, and sixth by Rivals â€” which now has them up to fourth.

Click here for our live coverage of the early signing period at colleges and high schools across the Philadelphia region.