Franklin’s third class since becoming Penn State’s head coach was impressive, both when they signed and then based upon their contributions to the program to date. This class is special for so many reasons and, imo, will be a major part of the reason we have success in both ’18 and ’19. Here’s the list…
1. PK Alex Barbir Okay, right off the bat a guy who will not contribute, but trust me, it gets better…Barbir just didn’t fit in- I admire his devotion to his beliefs and hope he does well in the future
2. LB Cam Brown would have benefitted from a rs year but none-the-less, he’s contributed and I expect his contributions to increase in the future, especially with the competition now on the roster
3. DT Tyrell Chavis (JC, 2017) similar to Paris Palmer, wish we had him longer than just 2 years, he was really coming on last season
4. TE Danny Dalton Currently projected as the starter, but that’s because of injuries. Has had a nice camp, we’ll see if it leads to anything during the regular season this fall
5. WR Dae’lun Darien late addition to the class, has since moved to LB- not sure if he’ll be a major contributor but it’s still early
6. OL Will Fries part of the O-line rebuild; Fries is just one more reason the O-line will be a strength in ‘18
7. OL Alex Gellerstedt Franklin has said he’s made major strides, part of the 2 deep in ‘18
8. P Blake Gillikin We’re going to miss him big-time after his career is over, he’s been terrific since arriving on campus
9. CB T.J. Johnson a casualty of the outstanding recruiting we’ve done at the corner position, has since transferred to Cincinnati
10. DT Ellison Jordan really came on at the end of last season, I expect him to be a major contributor (if healthy) in ‘18
11. DE Daniel Joseph still young, I think before it’s done, he’ll be an important member of the defensive line and wil certainly contribute over his career
12. OL Connor McGovern started as a frosh; All B1G in ’18?
13. CB Zech McPhearson part of the terrific CB corp, bet we see more of him this year, especially after his performance in the B/W game yesterday.
14. OL Michal Menet After some injuries, ready to star on the strong O-line at right guard
15. RB Miles Sanders Like Andre Robinson, also stuck behind Barkley, will put up great numbers in ’18, imo
16. DT Antonio Shelton said to have improved greatly, will be a significant contributor this season. Started in place of Windsor in the B/W game
17. DE Shane Simmons another guy who was coming on at the end of ’17, expect his growth to continue in ‘18
18. DT Brenon Thrift (JC, 2018) never did anything at Temple, Penn State and now I think he’s at West Virginia- good luck to him
19. DE Shaka Toney exciting defensive end, his role will be important to a productive defense in 2018
20. QB Jake Zembiec probably lost in the QB shuffle, would not be surprised if he transfers
I look through this list and say “wow”, very few misses and I’d argue that some of the so-called misses have more to do with better players ahead of them, not that the kid’s aren’t able to play at the DI level themselves. Lots of future potential with this group yet, too, exciting to watch them develop over the next few seasons
An important consideration to bring up regarding the ’16 class is some of the stuff that went on prior to these kids signing with Penn State and Franklin. If you all recall, after the 2015 season, Franklin fired the offensive coordinator, John Donovan, and then watched Hand and Shoop leave for what they perceived as greener pastures. If you also recall, Shoop was quoted as saying something to the effect that Tennessee has way more talent than he ever had at Penn State. Then there were a number of other issues including Franklin and Barbour publicly criticizing the negative recruiting that was going on (this created a media controversy), the exodus of several upperclassmen (who were buried on the depth chart- but that didn’t stop the media from making up a story about why) and the decommitments toward the end of the recruiting cycle that caused us to grab what many considered to be “plan B” kids. Kinda interesting to consider this class with those things in mind. I believe a good number from this class will contribute during their time at Penn State. It was a very solid class and helped lead us to 2 straight 11 win seasons, 2 NY6 Bowl appearances and a B1G Championship, not too shabby, eh?
1. PK Alex Barbir Okay, right off the bat a guy who will not contribute, but trust me, it gets better…Barbir just didn’t fit in- I admire his devotion to his beliefs and hope he does well in the future
2. LB Cam Brown would have benefitted from a rs year but none-the-less, he’s contributed and I expect his contributions to increase in the future, especially with the competition now on the roster
3. DT Tyrell Chavis (JC, 2017) similar to Paris Palmer, wish we had him longer than just 2 years, he was really coming on last season
4. TE Danny Dalton Currently projected as the starter, but that’s because of injuries. Has had a nice camp, we’ll see if it leads to anything during the regular season this fall
5. WR Dae’lun Darien late addition to the class, has since moved to LB- not sure if he’ll be a major contributor but it’s still early
6. OL Will Fries part of the O-line rebuild; Fries is just one more reason the O-line will be a strength in ‘18
7. OL Alex Gellerstedt Franklin has said he’s made major strides, part of the 2 deep in ‘18
8. P Blake Gillikin We’re going to miss him big-time after his career is over, he’s been terrific since arriving on campus
9. CB T.J. Johnson a casualty of the outstanding recruiting we’ve done at the corner position, has since transferred to Cincinnati
10. DT Ellison Jordan really came on at the end of last season, I expect him to be a major contributor (if healthy) in ‘18
11. DE Daniel Joseph still young, I think before it’s done, he’ll be an important member of the defensive line and wil certainly contribute over his career
12. OL Connor McGovern started as a frosh; All B1G in ’18?
13. CB Zech McPhearson part of the terrific CB corp, bet we see more of him this year, especially after his performance in the B/W game yesterday.
14. OL Michal Menet After some injuries, ready to star on the strong O-line at right guard
15. RB Miles Sanders Like Andre Robinson, also stuck behind Barkley, will put up great numbers in ’18, imo
16. DT Antonio Shelton said to have improved greatly, will be a significant contributor this season. Started in place of Windsor in the B/W game
17. DE Shane Simmons another guy who was coming on at the end of ’17, expect his growth to continue in ‘18
18. DT Brenon Thrift (JC, 2018) never did anything at Temple, Penn State and now I think he’s at West Virginia- good luck to him
19. DE Shaka Toney exciting defensive end, his role will be important to a productive defense in 2018
20. QB Jake Zembiec probably lost in the QB shuffle, would not be surprised if he transfers
I look through this list and say “wow”, very few misses and I’d argue that some of the so-called misses have more to do with better players ahead of them, not that the kid’s aren’t able to play at the DI level themselves. Lots of future potential with this group yet, too, exciting to watch them develop over the next few seasons
An important consideration to bring up regarding the ’16 class is some of the stuff that went on prior to these kids signing with Penn State and Franklin. If you all recall, after the 2015 season, Franklin fired the offensive coordinator, John Donovan, and then watched Hand and Shoop leave for what they perceived as greener pastures. If you also recall, Shoop was quoted as saying something to the effect that Tennessee has way more talent than he ever had at Penn State. Then there were a number of other issues including Franklin and Barbour publicly criticizing the negative recruiting that was going on (this created a media controversy), the exodus of several upperclassmen (who were buried on the depth chart- but that didn’t stop the media from making up a story about why) and the decommitments toward the end of the recruiting cycle that caused us to grab what many considered to be “plan B” kids. Kinda interesting to consider this class with those things in mind. I believe a good number from this class will contribute during their time at Penn State. It was a very solid class and helped lead us to 2 straight 11 win seasons, 2 NY6 Bowl appearances and a B1G Championship, not too shabby, eh?
