Yesterday, I posted an update on our 2015 class so today its time for a look back at the ’16 class, the second full class recruited solely by Franklin and his staff. This was a smaller class, only 20 kids, and an awful lot transferred out after figuring out that they probably wouldn’t ever play much at Penn State, but there sure were a solid number of significant contributors in this class, at least in my humble opinion. Read on to see my updated notes…
1. PK Alex Barbir Okay, right off the bat, a guy who never did a thing at Penn State
2. LB Cam Brown I think Brown would have benefitted from a rs year but none-the-less, he’s contributed and according to Jack Ham, he improved his play during the 2nd half of last year and is poised to have a good senior year
3. DT Tyrell Chavis (JC, 2017) similar to Paris Palmer, wish we had him longer than just 2 years, he did pretty well for us in his short time with the lions
4. TE Danny Dalton No longer with the team, transferred to BC. Dalton didn’t really contribute while he was with Penn State, good luck to him at Boston College.
5. WR Dae’lun Darien Another kid who transferred out of the program last year. Never really had much of a chance, younger, better, talent passed him by
6. OL Will Fries Thus far, I haven’t been all that impressed but he’s shown flashes. Hopefully he’ll get it together this fall. Pretty much guaranteed to be a starter in ’19, at least from what we’ve heard
7. OL Alex Gellerstedt Another transfer, I thought he’d have a shot to contribute but I was completely wrong
8. P Blake Gillikin Major contributor since he arrived on campus. Hopefully he’s poised to have a huge senior year
9. CB T.J. Johnson a casualty of the outstanding recruiting we’ve done at the corner position, transferred to Cincinnati before the start of the ’18 season
10. DT Ellison Jordan Injuries have stunted his development. Not sure if he’ll ever contribute in any meaningful way, time will tell
11. DE Daniel Joseph Hasn’t done anything special but he’s been a steady backup, maybe he’ll step up and provide greater depth in ‘19
12. OL Connor McGovern Now in the NFL
13. CB Zech McPhearson Couldn’t crack the rotation and transferred after the ’18 season
14. OL Michal Menet Starting at center, I expect him to anchor a good offensive line in ‘19
15. RB Miles Sanders Picked in the 2nd round by the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, Our highest drafted player this year
16. DT Antonio Shelton said to have improved greatly- but the same thing was said during the ’18 B/W game, we’ll just have to wait and see
17. DE Shane Simmons Hasn’t done a whole lot yet, seems to always be injured. Hopefully he can overcome the injuries and help what has been said to be the best group of defensive ends Franklin has ever had
18. DT Brenon Thrift (JC, 2018) never did anything at Temple, Penn State and last I heard, he was at West Virginia. There’s no doubt, he did nothing for Penn State
19. DE Shaka Toney Expected to start opposite Yetur Gross-Matos. Yet to be determined whether his size can withstand the rigors of starting in the B1G. I kinda expect Jayson Oweh to pass him by, we’ll see
20. QB Jake Zembiec Retired due to injury, never did anything at Penn State
Just like the '15 class, my notes on each of the players has changed quite a bit from last year. This class is highlighted by guys like Connor McGovern and Miles Sanders, both of which went fairly high in the NFL draft this past weekend. After that, there are a number of additional guys who have been important to Penn State’s success over the last 3 years. Looking forward, players like Shelton, Toney and Simmons on the D-line and players like Fries and Menet on the offensive line round out this, what I consider, decent class. Probably the most important contributor still on the team is Blake Gillikin. Not sure if anyone remembers our punting woes before Blake joined the team, those were ugly days LOL
After looking at the first two classes recruited by Franklin and Co., it’s pretty easy to see why our last 3 classes will likely make up a good part of our starting lineup this fall, especially at WR, TE, QB, LB and in the secondary. What do you guys think?
1. PK Alex Barbir Okay, right off the bat, a guy who never did a thing at Penn State
2. LB Cam Brown I think Brown would have benefitted from a rs year but none-the-less, he’s contributed and according to Jack Ham, he improved his play during the 2nd half of last year and is poised to have a good senior year
3. DT Tyrell Chavis (JC, 2017) similar to Paris Palmer, wish we had him longer than just 2 years, he did pretty well for us in his short time with the lions
4. TE Danny Dalton No longer with the team, transferred to BC. Dalton didn’t really contribute while he was with Penn State, good luck to him at Boston College.
5. WR Dae’lun Darien Another kid who transferred out of the program last year. Never really had much of a chance, younger, better, talent passed him by
6. OL Will Fries Thus far, I haven’t been all that impressed but he’s shown flashes. Hopefully he’ll get it together this fall. Pretty much guaranteed to be a starter in ’19, at least from what we’ve heard
7. OL Alex Gellerstedt Another transfer, I thought he’d have a shot to contribute but I was completely wrong
8. P Blake Gillikin Major contributor since he arrived on campus. Hopefully he’s poised to have a huge senior year
9. CB T.J. Johnson a casualty of the outstanding recruiting we’ve done at the corner position, transferred to Cincinnati before the start of the ’18 season
10. DT Ellison Jordan Injuries have stunted his development. Not sure if he’ll ever contribute in any meaningful way, time will tell
11. DE Daniel Joseph Hasn’t done anything special but he’s been a steady backup, maybe he’ll step up and provide greater depth in ‘19
12. OL Connor McGovern Now in the NFL
13. CB Zech McPhearson Couldn’t crack the rotation and transferred after the ’18 season
14. OL Michal Menet Starting at center, I expect him to anchor a good offensive line in ‘19
15. RB Miles Sanders Picked in the 2nd round by the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, Our highest drafted player this year
16. DT Antonio Shelton said to have improved greatly- but the same thing was said during the ’18 B/W game, we’ll just have to wait and see
17. DE Shane Simmons Hasn’t done a whole lot yet, seems to always be injured. Hopefully he can overcome the injuries and help what has been said to be the best group of defensive ends Franklin has ever had
18. DT Brenon Thrift (JC, 2018) never did anything at Temple, Penn State and last I heard, he was at West Virginia. There’s no doubt, he did nothing for Penn State
19. DE Shaka Toney Expected to start opposite Yetur Gross-Matos. Yet to be determined whether his size can withstand the rigors of starting in the B1G. I kinda expect Jayson Oweh to pass him by, we’ll see
20. QB Jake Zembiec Retired due to injury, never did anything at Penn State
Just like the '15 class, my notes on each of the players has changed quite a bit from last year. This class is highlighted by guys like Connor McGovern and Miles Sanders, both of which went fairly high in the NFL draft this past weekend. After that, there are a number of additional guys who have been important to Penn State’s success over the last 3 years. Looking forward, players like Shelton, Toney and Simmons on the D-line and players like Fries and Menet on the offensive line round out this, what I consider, decent class. Probably the most important contributor still on the team is Blake Gillikin. Not sure if anyone remembers our punting woes before Blake joined the team, those were ugly days LOL
After looking at the first two classes recruited by Franklin and Co., it’s pretty easy to see why our last 3 classes will likely make up a good part of our starting lineup this fall, especially at WR, TE, QB, LB and in the secondary. What do you guys think?
