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The majority of Penn State’s just signed recruiting class won’t arrive until the summer. James Franklin has already put them to work.
The task? Helping bring in the players who might replace them.
“I told these (2015 recruits), we’re going to go out and recruit a class next year of guys to come in and take their jobs,” Franklin said. “That’s the mentality. They’re going to be sick enough to help us go recruit.
“(Incoming defensive tackle Robert Windsor) is going to be sick enough to help us go recruit the top two defensive tackles in the country to take his job next year. And he understands that’s just going to bring out the best in him, creating the most competitive environment in the country that we possibly can.”
In less than a month on the job, Franklin and his staff managed to piece together a top-25 class in 2014 before following it up with a top-15 class this month.
Not good enough for Franklin.
“We’re never satisfied,” the Nittany Lions coach said. “We always want more. You always want to do better. I love the guys that we got. I love the class that we put together but we’re never going to be satisfied.”
For 2016, that means the Lions will have to not only build off of their success in Pennsylvania but also contend with the increasing influence of Ohio State, fresh off of a national championship.
No easy task.
Fast start
The good news for Penn State is that the 2016 class already has four members who have given verbal commitments more than a year in advance of their signing date.
Pittsburgh running back Miles Sanders and Maryland defensive end Shane Simmons are both ranked in the top 100 juniors nationally and both pledged back in July.
Since then, the Lions have added commitments from New York quarterback Jake Zembiec and Michigan defensive back Lavert Hill.
It’s the first time since the 2010 signing class that the Lions have had this many recruits on board more than a year in advance.
It won’t be the last.
Penn State recruiting coordinators Josh Gattis (offense) and Terry Smith (defense) both said that building an early foundation of a class is becoming a necessity.
“It is,” Gattis said. “I think you’re seeing recruiting changing a bit. It’s speeding up. Not only are you recruiting juniors and seniors, you’re recruiting sophomores.”
“You’ve got to get after these guys quick because the other major schools, they’re in on these guys already,” Smith said. “So we’ve got to make sure we’re on top of it if our goal is to be No. 1. We have to know about these guys to recruit them for two, three years. So we have to have these relationships in place.”
On one hand, the earlier a team can get commitments for a class, the earlier the players can start recruiting other players. And that’s much easier to do in this time thanks to social media, where a Pennsylvania kid can trade messages with a Virginia kid without any effort.
On the other, verbal commitments are just that. Non-binding.
“It’s a great thing to have a kid jump on board and be a part of your program,” Gattis said. “It makes it a long recruiting process, however. Because the recruiting doesn’t stop.
“So even if you get a kid committed early on, you’ve gotta recruit him like he never told you he was coming. Because anything can change.”
Keystone class
Penn State’s solid 2015 group was built on the strength of Pennsylvania players. Odds are that the Lions won’t sign as many in-state prospects for this new cycle, but the top targets will determine how high they finish in the rankings.
Sanders opens as the state’s No. 2 prospect. The guy at the top? Head to the Reading area and check out Exeter Township offensive lineman Michal Menet.
Lauded for his athleticism, the 6-foot-5 junior could end up as the state’s lone five-star prospect by signing day. He already has offers from coast to coast and has named a final five of Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State, Stanford and Duke.
The state’s No. 2 offensive lineman hails right from the Wyoming Valley.
Lake-Lehman center Connor McGovern has been a familiar face at Penn State, taking multiple visits to campus since the fall — including a trip as recently as this past weekend.
McGovern has offers from most of the ACC as well as Michigan State, Maryland and Rutgers in the Big Ten. He has previously named Penn State and North Carolina as his top choices.
With the Lions still looking to rebuild depth up front, Menet and McGovern are two of their most coveted players for 2016.
Elsewhere on offense, Pennsylvania boasts two of the nation’s top tight ends, both in the Philadelphia area. The Lions would hope to land either Imhotep Charter’s Naseir Upshur or Downingtown East’s Cary Angeline.
On defense, the top-rated player is Pittsburgh defensive back Damar Hamlin, a teammate of incoming Penn State freshman Johnny Petrishen at Central Catholic.
Philadelphia linemen Karamo Dioubate (Prep Charter) and Shaka Toney (Imhotep) have Penn State offers, as does Pittsburgh linebacker Khaleke Hudson (McKeesport).
Rounding out the Lions’ Pennsylvania offers is Hickory safety Andrew Pryts, the son of former Penn State linebacker Ed Pryts.
Despite hailing from the remote town of Hermitage near the Ohio border, Pryts boasts an offer list as impressive as anyone — from Ohio State and Michigan down to Alabama and all the way out to UCLA and Stanford.
“These are the guys we have to get,” Smith said, speaking of top Pennsylvania players in general. “Coach Franklin has made it clear. We need to secure our state. In the past, that hasn’t always happened.”
Expanding the circle
Franklin has tried to plant the Penn State flag in New Jersey and Maryland as much as possible since arriving.
Landing Simmons from traditional Maryland power DeMatha Catholic last summer was an excellent start in that regard for 2016.
But if Penn State really wants to test its recruiting muscle, the Lions only have to look toward the Garden State. Paramus Catholic defensive tackle Rashan Gary is currently the country’s No. 1 overall prospect.
Landing him would mean beating out every major program in the country, including the champion Buckeyes, most of the SEC and, perhaps most of all, Michigan. New Wolverines boss Jim Harbaugh recently hired Gary’s former high school coach for a support position on his staff.
From a positional standpoint, the Lions are still targeting the trenches on both sides of the ball. Penn State has more offers out to offensive and defensive linemen nationwide — by far — than any other spots.
“We’re getting closer to being more balanced, which allows us to take the best players available across the board,” said Andy Frank, Penn State’s director of player personnel who helps develop the overall recruiting plan. “I would say, and you can see it, we need to get bigger up front both offensively and defensively.
“We’ve been very good defensively, especially (in 2014), but some of those guys who are very good are going to graduate and move on. And you need to replace them.”
How many?
The Lions have mostly restocked the cupboard with the last two recruiting classes, bringing in 25 new players each of the last two winters.
That does mean, however, that they won’t be able to sign that many for 2016. Frank estimated that this next class may wind up in the 18-22 range.
As it stands now, Penn State has 82 scholarships accounted for in the 2015 season, the first time that the Lions are allowed to go up to the NCAA maximum of 85 since sanctions were imposed in 2012.
Scranton Prep grad Kevin Reihner, who said last month that he plans to transfer to Penn State from Stanford later this spring, would be No. 83.
Franklin said on signing day, however, that he does not expect to have 83 players on scholarship by the time the slots are locked in this summer before camp opens.
“There’s attrition every year,” Franklin said. “We study attrition. … Guys that leave early for the NFL, you have guys that transfer, you have guys that graduate, you have guys that just make other choices.
“There’s usually attrition around four or five guys a year, so we’ll be somewhere between 78 and 82 players, somewhere in that range (for the 2015 season).”
Right now, there are only 10 scholarship players entering their final year of eligibility on the roster, meaning there won’t be a ton of spots open for 2016.
Changes coming
This year could be the first that college football has an early signing period, with a vote on a proposed December window coming this summer. The normal signing period in early February would still remain in any case.
One thing that has already changed is the academic requirements for potential Division I athletes. The new guidelines include a 2.30 core GPA along with the required SAT or ACT score. Players must also have 10 core courses completed prior to their seventh semester in high school, with seven of the 10 coming in english, math and science.
It’s just another item that coaches have to keep an eye on while on the recruiting trail.
“I dont think it will change much, because there’s an awareness,” Smith said. “Everyone knows about it. The high school counselors are aware of it. The teachers are aware of it. So every time they make an adjustment to the academic requirements, the kids adjust.
“They just need to know what the requirements are and they’ll make it happen.”
Moving on
Regardless of the names or the numbers, Franklin and the Lions are eager to get things back to normal.
By the time the 2016 recruiting class arrives on campus, Penn State will essentially be back to full strength from the NCAA sanctions. And back on mostly even footing with its Big Ten peers.
That, as much as anything, is what the Lions are looking forward to right now.
“It’s exciting because there’s so many things right now that are falling into place,” Franklin said. “I think we’re closer to that right now than we have been probably in the last five years.
“Let’s just put a bunch of really good days together in the offseason and let’s see what happens.”
Below is Penn State’s updated recruiting map, which can be expanded by clicking on the full-screen icon in the upper right corner of the frame. Clicking on the list icon in the upper left will bring up the names of Penn State’s commitments and targets to show where the Lions have concentrated their recruiting efforts.
All recruit rankings and offers represent the 247Sports Composite, which averages the ratings of prospects from 247Sports, Rivals, Scout and ESPN.