Hitting The Road: PJ Mustipher
PJ Mustipher, the younger brother of Notre Dame’s center Sam Mustipher, is fresh off a visit to Ohio State this past weekend. Mustipher plans to continue his spring visits as he visits Penn State this upcoming weekend.
He also plans to visit programs such as Maryland, Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Notre Dame in the near future.
Fresh off a visit to Ohio State it’s obvious Mustipher has a definite interest in the Buckeyes. He has been on multiple unofficial visits to Columbus and his interest should be taken seriously. However, Ohio State’s recruiting class should be monitored during this recruitment as the Buckeyes just picked up a five-star defensive tackle in Taron Vincent. Last cycle, the Buckeyes brought in two defensive tackles in Haskell Garrett and Jerron Cage. It is unclear how many defensive tackles the Buckeyes are looking to bring in, but they are sitting pretty with a number of targets at the position and it might depend on how high Mustipher is on their big board.
This weekend, Penn State will get their chance to impress Mustipher again. He has been to Happy Valley before on an unofficial visit and will get another chance to check out the program. Penn State is boasting one of the best recruiting classes early in the 2018 recruiting cycle and Mustipher would be another impressive addition to the class. The pairing of Mustipher and Micah Parsons would be a great start to Nittany Lions’ defensive line recruiting. If Penn State can continue to impress this weekend it will definitely bolster its chances with Mustipher.
Of the rest of the schools Mustipher looks to visit, none should be overlooked. Maryland is the home-town team and looking to become a contender in the Big Ten. Virginia Tech has the first year of Justin Fuente under its belt and has already given him a contract extension. The Hokies have definitely found their guy to replace Frank Beamer. Lastly, Tennessee is a school that may be pretty tempting for Mustipher. It is an SEC program that recruits extremely well even though their play has been average over the past couple years. These three schools should be mentioned with Mustipher as it seems he is truly giving everyone a fair shot.
Mustipher seems to be comfortable making his own decision and is definitely on a mission to find the best fit. Notre Dame is in a good spot with Mustipher, but his brother being on the team does not seem to be playing a major factor. However, the connection to the program does give him an increased understanding of it and he’s scheduled to visit for the upcoming Blue-Gold Game.
The Irish already have Jayson Ademilola committed and are looking to be the team to beat with Ja’Mion Franklin. Add Mustipher to the mix and this could potentially be a dominant interior defensive line for the Irish in the future. The defensive line recruiting has been a bit suspect in years past, but this class could put disgruntled Irish fans at ease. Mustipher is a solid prospect Notre Dame is definitely looking to land this cycle. There may be some stiff competition, but the Irish should be confident in where they stand, at this point, for Mustipher.