And James Franklin is the man to do it. He needs to recruit nationally with Ohio State and (now) Michigan. The Buckeyes lock up most (but not all) of Ohio but then pull top talent from all over the nation like the Bosa boys from FL, Raekwon McMillan from GA, and the safety from TN using their famous $2,000 alumni handshakes. Just look at this year's #1 ranked recruiting class: two 5-stars, 13 4-stars, and 3 3-stars in an 18-member class. PSU should start landing 5-and-4-star candidates from around the country. LaVar Arrington's ward, the Class Of 2016 DE from Gardena (CA) Junipero Serra, would be a good start. Can't exist on unrefined 3-star and 4-star nuggets forever.
Penn State FB Recruiting Needs To Take One Last Giant Step
- Thread starter Crimson Lights
- Start date
These things take time. The great recruiters start making inroads with kids during their sophomore year, if not sooner. You can't just start talking to a kid at the end of their junior or during their senior year, especially if they are very high end players.
I think if anybody can do it, JF can. The Big Ten East is going to be a very, very strong division, and if the reputation they gain can come even close to that of the SEC, then that will make it even easier.
At the same time, you have to take into account the fact that in the SEC, and probably on the west coast, there are other "lures" used to get the best players. That isn't going to happen here, and never will. There aren't going to be bag-men for PSU or Michigan, at least. Not happening, and that will be a net minus for some of these kids.
I think if anybody can do it, JF can. The Big Ten East is going to be a very, very strong division, and if the reputation they gain can come even close to that of the SEC, then that will make it even easier.
At the same time, you have to take into account the fact that in the SEC, and probably on the west coast, there are other "lures" used to get the best players. That isn't going to happen here, and never will. There aren't going to be bag-men for PSU or Michigan, at least. Not happening, and that will be a net minus for some of these kids.
This is a good recruiting class but I agree that we have to start landing a few higher rated prospects in order to win the B1G. The competition is pretty tough with OSU, Michigan, and Michigan State in our division.
PSU will have to start locking up kids like Gary & Betiku if they hope to compete with the top teams in the country. Franklin has done a good job in PA but we definitely have to start getting a few guys from Ohio. We also have to keep OSU from attracting top prospects in NJ & MD.
Agree with getting a few more high end recruits but, this class does include guys from...
Maryland
North Carolina
Georgia
Michigan
Illinois
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New York
Not bad, so far, for his first full year of recruiting.
He also has a commit from a 2017 - 4 star QB from Ohio.
Maryland
North Carolina
Georgia
Michigan
Illinois
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New York
Not bad, so far, for his first full year of recruiting.
He also has a commit from a 2017 - 4 star QB from Ohio.
Most likely adding a florda guy with offers from all the bigtime programs as well with Nixon
The lures of the sunbelt states such as FL, CA, AL, GA, etc. are well understood and has been excuses used by northern schools for not winning MNC's. Well, OSU broke the mold and those excuses are just that, excuses! Getting out-of-state highly rated talent happens when you consistently win. ND has been able to pull in talent from all over the country because of it's Jesus U attraction and NBC national TV exposure, but to no avail when it comes to winning the big one. It's what you do with that talent that dictates how well your team performs! Therefore, if CJF can coach as well as he recruits, the country is his to pick from in a few years!
The REAL key is bringing in a class such as this EVERY year. That is how you build a Top 10 program. Franklin knows this. My only concern: can he coach and win WITH talent and depth? He has shown he can coach and win with lessor talent (Vandy).
REC at Bama calls $2,000 ten percent. Au and Bama should just hold auctions.
Tre Nixon would be great, a Buckeye-FSU recruit-type sprinter-WR, It will be a battle to get him away from Bama, LSU, UGA, Auburn, Ole Miss, Florida, FSU plus tOSU, USC, Notre Dame, Michigan. But PSU is in great shape with him, so CJF would be advised to air it out in the first 4 games to show Nixon that the Nittany Lions are WR-U.
there are probably going to be some limits. Some of the reasons those top 50 recruits go to certain programs are not reasons that we would want to have at Penn State. Penn State is a great research university with high academic standards at every level. We do not aspire to be Ohio State.
