The year before, Joe Paterno and Penn State had had a tremendous recruiting class: Todd Blackledge, Curt Warner, Kenny Jackson, Mike McCloskey, and so many others. The 1979 season was solid, but unspectacular, ending with a minor bowl win and an 8-4 record. And then recruiting, primarily tracked by Joe Terranova, Max Emfinger, Allen Wallace, and a young guy named Phil Grosz, took on a life of its own. What looked like another promising class slowly collapsed. Recruits that Penn State had expected to sign announced for other programs. And then more committed elsewhere, and then more. From nowhere a negative bandwagon effect took over: recruits heard that other recruits were abandoning the Lions, so they followed suit. Ultimately, the extremely disappointing recruiting class had 15-16 signees, and not a talented group at all.
Again, not many people were paying attention, but I was, and I wondered if the Penn State football program could recover from this debacle. Oh yeah--two years later, Penn State won its first national championship, and six years later, its second championship.
Whatever happens between now and February 3rd, this recruiting class is far from a disaster. Some may feel that way, because two and three months ago, everybody was expecting better. But PSU lost four games in a row, there was some coaching turnover, and even some transfers that freed up some roster space was seen as a problem for the program. This class is FAR from a disaster. Pay attention to the #1 running back, the excellent OL, a talented QB, and some other really quality recruits.
People who want to panic are going to panic. Me? I'm going to remember what 1980 looked like, what happened after that, and I'll just smile. This program and fan base have been through hell over the last few years, and there is a bright light ahead as we leave a very dark tunnel.
Again, not many people were paying attention, but I was, and I wondered if the Penn State football program could recover from this debacle. Oh yeah--two years later, Penn State won its first national championship, and six years later, its second championship.
Whatever happens between now and February 3rd, this recruiting class is far from a disaster. Some may feel that way, because two and three months ago, everybody was expecting better. But PSU lost four games in a row, there was some coaching turnover, and even some transfers that freed up some roster space was seen as a problem for the program. This class is FAR from a disaster. Pay attention to the #1 running back, the excellent OL, a talented QB, and some other really quality recruits.
People who want to panic are going to panic. Me? I'm going to remember what 1980 looked like, what happened after that, and I'll just smile. This program and fan base have been through hell over the last few years, and there is a bright light ahead as we leave a very dark tunnel.
