Absolutely. Not sure how anyone could argue otherwise - though we've been much better at developing (largely because we've had to be better there). Take a look at the collection of guys that have gotten legitimate NFL shots from Penn State, either by getting drafted or as UDFA's, and their recruiting profile. That's a whole lot of three star talent that's been coached up enough to get legitimate shots at the highest level.Then would you say this program has been doing a good job recruiting and developing talent in the secondary?
I added notations for Golden, Williams, and Lucas, as all of those guys initially were signed by and played for O'Brien, but underwent most of their development under Franklin.
John Reid - .9445 (4 star) - 4th round
Garrett Taylor - .9441 (4 star) - UDFA
Marcus Allen - .8877 (3 star) - 5th round
Troy Apke - .8681 (3 star) - 4th round
Nick Scott - .8634 (3 star) - 7th round
Grant Haley - .8578 (3 star) - UDFA
Amani Oruwariye - .8556 (3 star) - 5th round
Christian Campbell - .8354 (3 star) - 6th round
*Malik Golden - .8322 (3 star) - UDFA - redshirted in 2012 for O'Brien and played sparingly in 2013 for O'Brien, sparingly again in 2014 for Franklin, and then had four starts in 2015 and started every game at safety in 2016.
*Trevor Williams - .8291 (3 star) - UDFA - played WR as a freshman in 2012 for O'Brien, started 6 games at CB as a sophomore in 2013 for OB, then was named honorable mention all-conference under Franklin in 2014 and 2015.
*Jordan Lucas - .8255 (3 star) - 6th round - played two years under Franklin, was an honorable mention all-conference pick under O'Brien in 2013 and again in 2014 under Franklin before getting hurt in 2015.
Now, take a look at our current secondary, plus rotation guys. Given the higher level of talent to work with, I'd wager to guess that the draft/NFL results will be just as good, if not better.
SR Lamont Wade - .9797 (4 star)
SO Keaton Ellis - .8994 (4 star)
JR Jonathan Sutherland - .8992 (4 star)
FR Joey Porter Jr. - .8969 (4 star)
SR Tariq Castro-Fields - .8967 (4 star)
SR Jaquan Brisker - .8939 (4 star JUCO)
SO Marquis Wilson - .8884 (3 star)
SR Ji'Ayir Brown - .8830 (3 star JUCO)
FR Daequan Hardy - .8403 (3 star)