This is probably the last year but it is still tearing its ugly head primarily on defense. Multiple players on last years team would have redshirted under normal conditions and had another year. Our defense is very average and or young in certain positions. As long as Franklin can hold the recruiting together better times are on the way.
Sanctions are still taking a toll on this program ...
- Thread starter PSURDM1987
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I think the LB position is the biggest challenge to overcome.
The lack of a experienced physical guy in the middle has made the D vulnerable in the middle. After having a great run of players plugging holes and tackling at the LOS we are now catching the backs and dragging them down.
If there’s a grad transfer out there that would fit the bill for next year I’m in favor of getting one. Not so for the physical traits cause the young LBers have them, but to get the knowledge and attitude on the field in practice and games to show the others how to do it.
As many might say, we need a “football player” out there not just an athelete.
The lack of a experienced physical guy in the middle has made the D vulnerable in the middle. After having a great run of players plugging holes and tackling at the LOS we are now catching the backs and dragging them down.
If there’s a grad transfer out there that would fit the bill for next year I’m in favor of getting one. Not so for the physical traits cause the young LBers have them, but to get the knowledge and attitude on the field in practice and games to show the others how to do it.
As many might say, we need a “football player” out there not just an athelete.
No they aren't. I'm so tired of this garbage. In 2040 we'll have people on this board talking about how the sanctions are still effecting this program.
Agree. Its especially evident on the DL and at LB'r. Now some of the LB'r issues were from going after "athletes" instead of traditional LB'rs. But it looks like the staff realized that was a mistake and changed it up last year.
DL is tougher we missed out on some guys but maybe the bigger issue is the ones we did have that had to give up football. Imagine how much better this line would be with Bucholtz and Brown.
1 big peeve of mine though is it still seems our DE's continue to rush too far up field and actually end up providing a nice pocket for the QB.
You don't think sanctions are still having an effect on the program, particularly in depth? Please explain starting a walk-on at middle linebacker. I don't think Bama, Clemson, Ohio State, Michigan, etc are doing that. No knock against Johnson, he is doing a solid job in there.
I get that there are plenty of D starters with multi-year experience, of course the same goes at Rutgers, Maryland, etc.
Bottom line is we need to increase the number of kids in the program who have committable offers from Bama, Ohio State, Michigan etc, instead of kids who picked PSU over BC, Pitt, Syracuse and WVU. The former gets you a top 8 team, the latter is what gets you at top 20 team.
Big difference. Good news is the recruiting is getting better each year.
Agree I think we may have to go either JUCO or Grad transfer for another LB'r and another DT.
And our tackling is still an issue.
My pet peeve is that #7 continues to see the field.
It’s insanity
It’s insanity
Yes they are. Whether you want to admit it or see it is on you.
Sure, I'll explain MLB. We haven't recruited well at linebacker the last few years. The same goes with DT.
Look at Texas, Oregon, Florida State, Tennessee.......without any sanctions teams that were strong in the 90s have fallen apart for the past 3-5 years. PSU with brutal sanctions in an area with shrinking population, shrinking high school football base (when compared to Florida, Texas, California and Tennessee, has been very strong for the past 3 years.........perspective.
If the negativity continues.......it isn't realistic to think the great recruiting will continue. Parents and athletes watch twitter and other social media. Players are already commenting on the PSU "fan base." The media will once again put Franklin on the "hot seat" and so it goes. This loyal fan base was giddy with better than anticipated results in 2016. Sometimes expectations are not met. That's why the games are played. Look at the level of talent that we have had to replace.I contend that the loss of talent pales in comparison to the loss of on field leadership.
If Franklin were elite, he wouldn't have had sanctions. Notice that saban doesn't allow himself to be limited by sanctions.
Amen! Last night Jeff Brohm became elite! LOL! He's 11-9 at Purdue.
Word on the street is he is lusting for the HC position at PSU.
Good Lord. Now James Franklin can't recruit! He really is a worthless individual isn't he? Let's buy him out! I hear Jim Roth is available from Southern Columbia. That's the guy we need.
I've enjoyed poking fun at "The Lair." I wish to offer them my heartfelt apology. We Are now just like them.
We've had the full amount of scholarships to give since 2014.
Class of 2014
25 recruits.
1 LB (MLB) - Troy Reader and 1 (Safety) - Koa Farmer converted to (OLB).
Class of 2015
25 recruits
2 LB (OLB) - Manny Bowen and (MLB) - Jake Cooper and 1 (Safety) - Koa Farmer converted to (OLB).
Class of 2016
1 (OLB) - Cam Brown and 1 (WR) Dae'Lun Darian converted to (OLB)
Class of 2017
21 recruits
2 LB (OLB) - Brelin Faison-Walden and (MLB) Ellis Brooks
2018
23 recruits
3 LB (OLB) Charlie Katshir and (MLB) Jesse Luketa and Nick Tarburton now a (SDE) and (WDE) Micah Parsons moved to (OLB)
So, in five full recruiting classes we have recruited 4 MLB.
The problem isn't the sanctions, it's the fact that the recruiting of LB has been bad over the last five years. Five years of full scholarships is plenty of time to recruit more than 4 MLB. That's not even one a year.
We have four LBers who were converted from other positions during this time due to our failures at recruiting the position.
When the sanctions hit most football experts said it would take 5-7 years after the sanctions were over to return to NORMALCY. The Big Championship was as much as a shock to them as it was to me. I believe we're 1 - 2 recruiting years from being the difference.
We lost a lot of players to the NFL and injuries before the season even started. I compare this team to the 83-84 PSU teams that Joe had, after the 84 Pitt game he called his team a bunch of babies. In 85-86 he played for the national championship. Some people on this board know better.
We lost a lot of players to the NFL and injuries before the season even started. I compare this team to the 83-84 PSU teams that Joe had, after the 84 Pitt game he called his team a bunch of babies. In 85-86 he played for the national championship. Some people on this board know better.
One big issue we are still facing even though some seem to think we are past the sanctions is recruiting. We have recruited as a top program the last 2 years for the most part but the older players on this roster were recruited at the end of the sanctions. Look at the older guys, who were kind of lets hurry up and fill up these classes. We are grateful to have them, would a lot of them get offered now??? Not sure.
I just remember back to the signing day. They talked about...
Deandre Thompkins as a great return guy, wasn’t a whole lot of hype other then that.
They talked about the great speed of Koa farmer and he was a safety. They talked about him as the years went here about him not being able to get off blocks and that hasn’t changed.
Brandon Polk was a speed guy, wasn’t much to hear about other then that.
Trace was a guy who was recruited as a safety, he has worked out at QB haha but he wasn’t exactly much of a recruiting prize at the time.
AO I think was an ok recruit, not a lot of competition for him. He has played well for the lions over his career. I like AO and feel for him with his chance to end MSU game.
Nick scott was a running back, not a super big recruit. He never played much at RB and gets moved to safety.
Then look at the juniors. Lot more big recruits there and behind them even more big recruits. We should be grateful for these seniors, they came here when not many others would. They are a group we should appreciate for a long long time.
I just remember back to the signing day. They talked about...
Deandre Thompkins as a great return guy, wasn’t a whole lot of hype other then that.
They talked about the great speed of Koa farmer and he was a safety. They talked about him as the years went here about him not being able to get off blocks and that hasn’t changed.
Brandon Polk was a speed guy, wasn’t much to hear about other then that.
Trace was a guy who was recruited as a safety, he has worked out at QB haha but he wasn’t exactly much of a recruiting prize at the time.
AO I think was an ok recruit, not a lot of competition for him. He has played well for the lions over his career. I like AO and feel for him with his chance to end MSU game.
Nick scott was a running back, not a super big recruit. He never played much at RB and gets moved to safety.
Then look at the juniors. Lot more big recruits there and behind them even more big recruits. We should be grateful for these seniors, they came here when not many others would. They are a group we should appreciate for a long long time.
And they were basing that on actually serving 4 years of sanction. We didn't. We had two. And since 2014 we've had access to the the full amount. In 5 full classes we've recruited 4 MLB. We have four OLB from those classes who were converted from other positions 2 Safety, 1 WR, and 1 WDE.
We've had plenty of time to recruit LBer and we've been bad at it. It had nothing to do with sanctions.
This board is absolutely delusional and ridiculous when it comes to sanctions. It's this board's catch all excuse for when the team doesn't do well.
BUT MY SANCTIONS!!!!!
Yes but it doesn't take into account that we had to "Chase" some schollies at other positions that left other areas in the lurch.
Namely in those years from 2014+ on OL, DB's and WR's.
Its really not that hard to understand.
We may not be suffering from a "lack" of schollies but just because we got them all back doesn't mean we aren't still feeling the effect of them.
We have to chase every recruit every year. It's no different. There is not a single player who was recruited while we were on sanctions that would have eligibility left today. If we were never on sanctions and recruited 8 MLB during that time they would all be gone.
We have half a decade worth of classes since we last recruited a class where we had 15 scholarships. And we've recruited 4 MLB. The idea that we are still feeling the effects of them is just an excuse. Franklin has recruited lights out at WR, DB, and OL since then. He's brought in plenty of guys. He hasn't at LB.
What of Manny, how many games including the Rose Bowl in which we could of used him along with other key games. So should we overload recruiting a position with 5 linebackers, so in 4-5 years we have to recruit 5 linebackers in that class. What of the transfers, like Andre, or throwing Paris Palmer right into the fire from JC, what about Irv Charles. Yeah it is about sanctions, other than the SMU death penalty no other team had to go through what we did there is no measuring stick for the sanctions.
Not like we had to for OL and DB's. You remember that right? OB didn't have enough schollies so he went after playmakers in other areas. That left us short a lot more than what is "normal" in a recruiting year.
Remember you recruit for positions 2 years down the line at least in a perfect world.
One thing that can be discussed is coach Franklin's recruiting philosophy as it pertains to Penn State Football. Is he recruiting defensive athletes based on speed and stamina or size and strength? Nick Saban and Alabama have all but abandoned the speed and stamina angle with respect to DT & DE's. For over a decade opposing coaches have tried to poach these athletes away from Alabama, some have had limited success but no one has really put a dent in that pipeline. I firmly believe that Coach Franklin and the coaching staff is working tirelessly to try and pry some of these athletes away from Alabama.
Anyone who follows the program knows we have not recruited well at LB in the CJF era. And I don't believe it's because of a lack of effort. Kids that are natural LBs who' have slighted PSU for other schools have done so because in spite of PSU being LBU, Pry and CJF have no record of producing NFL backers. I know there are may reasons why kids select one school over another but having a position coach that sends kids to the league is a huge factor. Until Pry builds a resume of developing LBs who make it to the league recruiting LBs will be a challenge. IMHO this explains why CJF has effectively the whole coaching staff greet high target kids and their families on recruiting trips. He can't sell a position coach (yet) so he sells family atmosphere. The lack of a track record at several positions means we cant sell NFL development. So selling family atmosphere is the most viable option at the present time. For the most part it's worked. And concerning sanctions, the negative effects have been huge. Yes they've diminished over time but are still a factor today.
Agree. Its especially evident on the DL and at LB'r. Now some of the LB'r issues were from going after "athletes" instead of traditional LB'rs. But it looks like the staff realized that was a mistake and changed it up last year.
DL is tougher we missed out on some guys but maybe the bigger issue is the ones we did have that had to give up football. Imagine how much better this line would be with Bucholtz and Brown.
1 big peeve of mine though is it still seems our DE's continue to rush too far up field and actually end up providing a nice pocket for the QB.
you are stating the reason that i think we should have kept Tarburton at MLB and let him play this year. if you watch him play he is tough to move and aggressive. by now he would have been starting to stuff these plays. instead we moved him to DE at 245# where he is too small to play now. i think we should have also developed Toney as an OLB - but that ship sailed. you have to play big in the MLB position in the BIG. I thought Luketa was going to fill this need, but given who is playing he must not be what he was expected to be.
So, if things go south we're going to blame it on the fans? Already locked and loaded. Wow.
The Bill O'Brien school of thinking. Those damn JoeBots!
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I would have liked to see us try Shaka at LB'r. He's just too "specific" as a DE. As a pass rusher he's really good.
So we haven’t recruited well at LB and DT the last few years but the sanctions has nothing to do with our recruiting???? Maybe the two go hand in hand. Maybe we had some good players at that position who decided to go elsewhere. Maybe we had some that we might have recruited but they decided they weren’t interested because of the sanctions. The sanctions will have an impact as long as any recruit chooses not to come here because of them or because of the “stain” on the university.
So James Franklin who has finished in the top 10 two years in a row and also had 2 unheard of top 25 finishes at Vandy has forgotten how to coach? Is it CTE perhaps? Early unset Alzheimer's? Perhaps those teams all won in spite of him? You just can't make this shit up.
It’s not unbelievable that if Cabinda was back this year or Bell last year our defense would be better.
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4-1 this year and they blew out osu. Please stop the sanctions talk at this point.
