Penn State visit on the docket this spring for Top100 2028 DE George Parkinson IV

Malvern (Pa.) Prep defensive end George Parkinson IV already looks like one of the top prospects in the country in the Class of 2028, and his planned list of spring visits would seem to back that up. The early Penn State top target released his spring plans on Tuesday, and he’ll be all over the country in the next couple of months. 

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound prospect will begin making the rounds this spring with a stop at Tennessee on March 21. He’ll then head to Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan over a three-day stretch beginning on March 26. Oregon will get a visit on the weekend of April 2, before Texas A&M and LSU receive visits on April 11 and April 16, respectively. 

Parkinson will finish off his spring visit slate by heading to Penn State on April 25, which is on the books at the Nittany Lions Blue-White Weekend in 2026. The four-star prospect was last on campus in Happy Valley for a Junior Day in January to meet Matt Campbell and the new Nittany Lions’ staff. It was his fourth visit to Penn State overall as a prospect.

Link: Breaking down Penn State’s defensive blueprint for the 2027 recruiting class

“Some things that really stood out to me at Penn State was the engagement of new staff and the new facilities,” Parkinson said following the visit. “Right when we walked into the building we were greeted by many coaches and had lunch with our positional coaches, which is something that hasn’t happened before.

“We spent most of the day learning about the program and how Penn State will rebuild it. While touring the facility, we saw a new training room and cafe that I didn’t even know they were building. Everything looked very professional. I felt valued and really enjoyed speaking with Coach [Christian] Smith, who gave me some good pointers and drills to work on.”

In addition to the visits listed, Parkinson has one of the top offer lists in the next cycle and he’s been well-traveled so far for a sophomore. He went to Florida State, North Carolina and South Carolina last summer and was at Virginia Tech for a Junior Day at the end of January. 

He finished his sophomore season with 53 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, eight sacks and 23 quarterback hurries.

Parkinson once again traveling with 2028 DL RJ Cruz III

Parkinson will be making several of the trips with his longtime friend and travel partner, Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh defensive lineman RJ Cruz III. Cruz is a Lancaster, Pa., native who trains with Parkinson at Garage Strength Training in Reading, Pa. 

“We’ve known each other for a few years now,” Cruz said last summer when asked about his friendship with Parkinson. “It started at a football camp at the Eagles’ stadium when we were like 12. Since then, we’ve hung out a lot and our dads are close friends now, too. We both train at Garage Strength [in Reading, Pa.] and also have the same defensive line trainer.”

Cruz will also visit Tennessee on March 21, Ohio State on March 25, Notre Dame on March 26, Michigan on March 28 and Penn State on April 25. He’ll also squeeze in a return to Virginia Tech on April 11.