Penn State adds OL David Tarawallie to 2027 class just a day after earning offer

Penn State didn’t have to wait too long to get an answer from offensive tackle David Tarawallie.

On Wednesday, the 6-foot-6, 265-pound offensive lineman picked up an offer from Nittany Lion assistant coach Ryan Clanton following a workout at his school. Now, less than 24 hours later, the Painesville, Ohio, native has decided to pass on the opportunity to take official visits this summer and instead commit to Penn State.

“Being closer to home, Clanton’s history of developing guys’ bodies, a great business school and awesome facilities really pulled me in,” Tarawallie said when asked why he wanted to commit to Penn State now instead of waiting.

Just two months ago, the Riverside prospect had yet to earn a single Football Bowl Subdivision scholarship offer. That then changed on March 14, when Cincinnati offered during an unofficial visit. By the time he visited Penn State on March 26, Tarawallie had added a few Group of Five schools, only to then pick up an offer from Michigan State on March 28.

That all changed throughout April, with Tarawallie adding offers from schools like Louisville, N.C. State, Pitt, Tennessee and Virginia Tech. Nebraska then became the 15th school to offer on May 1, followed by Penn State just yesterday, May 6.

Link: Which recruits have Penn State’s coaches visited so far and who’s next?

A major reason Tarawallie wasn’t on the radar sooner is that he played both offensive tackle and defenisve end at around 240 pounds during his junior season. Since then, he’s been focused on adding weight throughout the offseason and has recently surpassed 265 pounds.

“I don’t even think he is remotely close to scratching the surface of his potential,” said Riverside strength coach Bryan Doberdruk. “If you look at him, he’s a skinny 264-pound kid. He will probably play this year around 275 pounds and be an incredibly athletic 300-pound college freshman. I’ve been a strength coach full-time for 17 years, and I’ve never had a kid this size who moves so well.”

In addition to Penn State, Tarawallie took unofficial visits to Cincinnati, Michigan State, Ohio State, Pitt and USF this spring. He was considering official visits to Cincinnati, Michigan State, Tennessee, USF and Wake Forest this summer, although those visits are no longer expected to take place.

Tarawallie currently holds an 87 overall ranking by Rivals, making him a three-star prospect. The Industry Rankings place him at No 792 nationally and 57th overall at offensive tackle.

He’s now the fourth offensive lineman in the class, joining Pennsylvania native Ryan Robbins at offensive tackle. Pittsburgh’s Jon Sassic and Maryland’s Owen Reilly are both expected to be interior linemen at the next level.