It’s been nearly seven months since Jerry Cross announced his commitment to Penn State but the four-star tight end prospect still hasn’t set foot on campus. He hopes that will “finally” change this summer, scheduling plans for an official visit during the last weekend of June.
“Gonna be all of the commits down there,” Cross, a junior at King (Milwaukee, Wis.) High School told Lions247 regarding that weekend.
It remains to be seen how well-represented the Nittany Lions’ 2022 class will ultimately be in State College during those last final days of June, or if the NCAA will actually give a green light for such an occasion to occur. An emergency “dead period” for recruiting that dates back to March 2020 was recently extended through May, eliminating the majority of college football’s early official visit window.
If plans come to fruition, Cross intends to explore Happy Valley alongside his parents and grandparents. He pledged to Penn State without ever seeing the school in person and ensuing communication with future teammates and staff members has been handled virtually.
The strength of that decision was tested last month when Nittany Lions tight ends coach Tyler Bowen departed for an NFL job. An internal promotion for offensive analyst Ty Howle made a positive impression as they’d already established rapport.
“He’s my guy,” Cross said of Howle. “First person to start recruiting me (for Penn State). We’ve got a super-strong relationship. I’m proud of him and happy for him. He got the job that he had been working for.”
Considered the No. 9 tight end and No. 226 overall talent in 247Sports’ Class of 2022 composite rankings, Cross is among the most vocal members of a seven-player class that ranks seventh nationally in composite rankings. Penn State commit Beau Pribula described that as a testament to his enthusiasm and loyalty.
“It just shows the type of dude that Jerry is, and I think that goes to the whole class,” Pribula said. “We’re all really solid. When we made our decisions, we knew we would stay solid the whole time. Jerry has done a great job. For a guy out in Wisconsin who has never been here, and with Coach Bowen leaving — I know that was a big hit. I loved Coach Bowen. He is a great guy, great offensive mind — but Jerry chose Penn State and he was gonna stay faithful.”
Cross made it clear early in his commitment that he intended on doing his part to build an impressive group.
“I just feel this class is special,” Cross said last August. “I know the potential that we have. … We are special already. The more we grow with each other, and the more commits we get over time, this is gonna be a special team that can win a national championship.”
Cross’ junior season at King was postponed into the spring. Unfortunately, he confirmed that another postponement means a lengthy wait will continue until autumn — two years after his last live action. As a sophomore, Cross averaged nearly 20 yards per reception and scored 11 touchdowns.
