West Allegheny safety Brock Cornell has been committed to Bucknell since June, but after long consideration and a visit to a prestigious Ivy League program, he decided to make a change.
On Wednesday, Cornell announced via X that he was flipping his commitment to the University of Pennsylvania.
Penn has been a school in the back of Cornell’s mind, but once he finally stepped on campus for a visit in the beginning of September and connected with head coach Ray Priore and associate head coach/defensive coordinator Bob Benson, he realized that was the place he wanted to call home.
“I was just going with it and talking to coach Benson and coach Priore. I went up and visited and loved the kids and how they coached and what they had going on. Once I went up, it was a no-brainer,” Cornell told Pittsburgh Sports Now.
On his visit, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound recruit got a glimpse of how Penn’s coaching staff and players fit the type of team he wants to play for.
“I love how they coach. They’re a tough, gritty coaching staff. They’re not going to let anything slide and that’s something I like. Usually when coaches are like that, you have good teams and disciplined players.
“Talking with the kids there, they’re intelligent and they want to win. I think I can surround myself around people like that and succeed,” Cornell said.
Cornell, a 4.2 GPA student in high school, also prides himself on academics and attending an Ivy League program will set him up for a future beyond football.
“What really sold me was the academics,” he said. “You’re not going to get that anywhere else. They’re incredible. I know the academics are amazing from the application process and all the classes I have to take now.”
With the academic support system at Penn, Cornell will be able to not only find a balance as a student-athlete but will also have an opportunity to get “the full college experience.”
“There are 13,000 kids and its very diverse with kids from out of the country and all over the country. You get to meet and talk to all these kids. You’re in the city, so it’s right by what you’d want to do. There are multiple colleges in [Philadelphia] like Temple, Drexel, Villanova. I’ll have friends going up to Villanova,” Cornell said.
What made the Penn option that much more appealing was nearby relatives that will allow Cornell to have a family supports system and allow his parents to come and visit for game days.
“Now that they can stay no more than 30 minutes away and come on a game day is pretty cool,” Cornell said.
Cornell continues his senior season at West Allegheny as a two-way player at safety and running back. Most recently in a loss at Moon, he recorded 12 total tackles and one tackle for loss, along with 77 rushing yards.
