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So excited for future— best Freshman class in PSU history

Porter is gone and if Olu's draft stock stays upper 1st round then I see him leaving. Although if he doesn't come back from injury soon then NFL evaluators may consider 6 or 7 games to be too small of a sample size.

If Jacobs goes it will be late rounds at best. He'd be better served staying. Washington may want a year with Allar to boost his numbers. Guessing he'd be the clear-cut #1 wr with well over 1000 yards with Allar. Can't see any of the TEs thinking they are early picks.
 
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Aaron Maybin could have used another year in college but why turn down a $15 million NFL deal?
Because sometimes another year will enable you to be in a slightly better position to have and maintain long-term success in the NFL. Though, as I said, most often taking the cash is the right move, especially if you’re projected to go very high in the draft.
 
Because sometimes another year will enable you to be in a slightly better position to have and maintain long-term success in the NFL. Though, as I said, most often taking the cash is the right move, especially if you’re projected to go very high in the draft.
I also agree that taking the cash was almost always the best option in the past. I wonder if NIL money in college will change that equation moving forward to help some avoid the pull of instant cash and develop appropriately in college for one more year.
 
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I also agree that taking the cash was almost always the best option in the past. I wonder if NIL money in college will change that equation moving forward to help some avoid the pull of instant cash and develop appropriately in college for one more year.

Maybe for some but unless you're getting deals like Bryce Young its not going to outweigh first round NFL money. For guys playing the blue collar positions I doubt NIL ever comes close. What kind of NIL deals have OTs been getting?
 
Do not forget the talent that surrounded Kerry Collins. There was not a running back room any deeper anywhere in the country....and this was not a good Indiana team. But the program is heading in the right direction... for sure.
Also remember that the 92 team underachieving and in one of his books Paterno admitted to "losing them."

We lost our bowl to Stanford + Bill Walsh 24-3 and it wasn't that close. The young guys on the team likely bonded to right the ship. 93 was a year of growth and confidence buikding. 94 was incredible.

Coming off of some mediocre years, with a couple of challenging circumstances that we didn't adapt to as well as others, maybe this group is poised to take us to the next level again.
 
And don't sleep on Zane Durant, a year in the weight room and replacing PJ becomes a bit easier.
They are totally different DTs....PJ is a massive space eater, Zane much quicker and athletic, but built like a Givens or Spice Adams. Still need some bigger bodies on the inside that can dominate.
 
Who knows if it will turn out to be the best freshman class. But it's probably fair to say no freshman class has ever contributed so much as freshmen.

That's a reflection of how college football is changing -- not only no need to redshirt, but a real need to play people and see what they can do early because they're only going to be in Happy Valley 2-3 years. The good ones will go to NFL, the not so good will transfer out if they can. And this will even be true at traditionally slow-developing positions like OL DL TE LB. You have to play people early and the schemes have to accommodate that.
 
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I am impressed with Orlovsky every time I hear him. Does his homework. Him and Bob "whatever his name is" are a solid team. I know they got off track about candy the last part of the broadcast. But the game was a blowout and they were having some fun. To me, Blackledge and Orlovsky are better analysts than Herbstreit. They give more indepth analysis of plays.

Agree, Orlovsky is going to be a star. I couldn't believe I was actually LEARNING stuff about PSU from an ESPN analyst. He was really well prepared and his observations and analysis were spot on all game. Makes a game so much more enjoyable when you have someone like that.

I thought his comment about PSU quarterbacking were respectful of Cliff but also making the very valid point that lacking the "dude" QB has been one of the key differences between PSU and elite programs.
 
I really like Orlovsky too. Funny he was questioning the odd decision of Indiana QB entering the portal, but still playing ,and how your teammates have to have your back, few plays later 2 PSU defenders jump on top of him and knock him out the game. Great timing on that remark.
He would point out where the blitzes would come from also.
 
Who knows if it will turn out to be the best freshman class. But it's probably fair to say no freshman class has ever contributed so much as freshmen.

That's a reflection of how college football is changing -- not only no need to redshirt, but a real need to play people and see what they can do early because they're only going to be in Happy Valley 2-3 years. The good ones will go to NFL, the not so good will transfer out if they can. And this will even be true at traditionally slow-developing positions like OL DL TE LB. You have to play people early and the schemes have to accommodate that.
Freshmen made a big impact when we got DWill, Butler, Sargent, and Norwood. The key was that we had a lot of the other pieces in place. Allar, Singleton, Carter, etc should have a lot of success the next two years is they have an adequate supporting cast (DL, OL, LB).

I agree about how college football is changing but I think it's for the worse. More transfers and early departures for the NFL = a huge distraction from what was supposed to be college sports being played by college students.
 
First, living in Cleveland, I’ve had enough of the ‘wait’till next year’ mentality. Secondly, tap the brakes. This is a bad Indiana team that, inexplicably, started a QB who is on the team but in the transfer portal. Worse, he gets hurt. Worse, they put in a kid that was clearly an overwhelmed freshman. Then they put in a kid who actually looked competent, because he could run, but they were behind by 3 tds.

So the team did what they needed to do. CJF has them ready to play. We’ve got some great freshmen but, with the portal and the nature of football, there are no guarantees. I am still skeptical of his game time coaching. You watch LSU and Tennessee who have found ways to beat good teams. We still haven’t found a way to do that.
I agree but the biggest cause has been leadership at quarterback. An elite quarterback doesn't throw the interception in the Rise Bowl with Southern Cal or turn the ball over 4 times in a huge game. . We have been lacking elite QB leadership and leadership in general.
 
Bright only if the Offensive Line and QB and LBs get major upgrades.

Lots of ifs and the recruiting pipeline is only fair on OL and LBs.
I think the OL has made great strides this year. Several young players have stepped in and played well due to injuries, including a true frosh, Shelton. Apparently, you haven’t watched Carter play LB this year. Many consider Rojas to be a top LB recruit. You don’t consider Allar to be an upgrade at QB? Interesting.
 
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"I never was but am always to be, and everyone looks forward to me."

There is no future, only present. How many times must PSU miss the boat by Halloween and we are left with "the future".

If Franklin holds onto lead last week, PSU is Md, Rutgers and MSU away from the playoff or pretty darn close. Now we are hoping for the Citrus, a 3rd place finish and "next year". The cycle never stops.
You are correct. Which is why the only thing that matters is playing well and finishing 10-2. Orlovsky also said something interesting which was that with the 4 team playoff, many think that if you don’t make the playoff your team stinks. I think we can safely include you in that group.
 
We need a major upgrade in talent on both offensive and defensive lines. We'll never take the next step until we own the LOS.
Well the lines got handled by Michigan but held up well against OSU since PSU had slightly more rushing and passing yards against the Bucknuts. That game was lost due to losing the turnover battle 4-0.
 
This is pure hyperbole. It is way too early to make such judgements. Right now, Franklin's first class (and worst rated one) remains his best by a country mile, never mind some of the classes pre-Franklin. Go look at Kerry Collins freshmen class and say this is the best freshmen class in Penn State history with a straight face. Look at the 05 class. Same story. Maybe it will be it will be in the discussion in two years but not likely given the overall strength of our best classes. This one looks short on both talent and impact.
You obviously haven’t been watching the games this year. I don’t disagree with the assessment that the 1994 team had a better class, but to claim that the freshmen on this team lack talent and impact is asinine.
 
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Drew Allar
Nick Singleton
Kaytron Allen
Abdul Carter
Dani Dennis Sutton
Drew Shelton
and so many more.
Great class coming in and recruiting should finish out strong when recruits see the potential for championship run.
Great tight end development
Elite DB development with many NFL level talent
Linebackers trending up
Three Oline studs coming in

Now we are seeing elite recruitment and player development everywhere including Oline—- Juice Scruggs was only starter in whole game but line dominated and has true depth

Give Franklin credit— future is bright!!! He runs a great program now poised for championship runs
Can we keep them when someone throws a ton of cash their way?
 
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