The class of 2016 is nearly complete

[bdgan]

On the radar:

Fuller - OSU lean
Nixon - PSU or GA
Ferns - PSU or WV
Hamlin - PSU, ND, or OSU
Hansford - PSU

I think we get Ferns or Hansford plus one other. That would be 22 total assuming we don't lose anybody. It also means that 8 kids would leave early or not have their scholarship renewed.

 

[Nashville Lion]

Would love to get Hamlin....but I think he is probably going to O$U.

 

[bmw199]

On the radar:

Fuller - OSU lean
Nixon - PSU or GA
Ferns - PSU or WV
Hamlin - PSU, ND, or OSU
Hansford - PSU

I think we get Ferns or Hansford plus one other. That would be 22 total assuming we don't lose anybody. It also means that 8 kids would leave early or not have their scholarship renewed.

I think we get Nixon, Hamlin, and Hansford plus a surprise (at the moment I would count Ferns as a surprise). As we talked about many times, your math assumes Walker got a multiple year scholarship, it was always my impression that Run-Ons who are put on scholarship are only one year scholarships.

 

[mickey_PSU]

If looking for potential openings, I offer the following:
Hackenberg
A.Johnson
Kiley
A.Smith
J.Smith

and, although not as likely,
Schwann
Bell
Wartman-White
Wilkerson
Hamilton
Breneman

and then there's always the surprise transfer or kid who decides he's just not interested in playing behind guys anymore, I'm sure it'll work out.

 

[bdgan]

I think we get Nixon, Hamlin, and Hansford plus a surprise (at the moment I would count Ferns as a surprise). As we talked about many times, your math assumes Walker got a multiple year scholarship, it was always my impression that Run-Ons who are put on scholarship are only one year scholarships.

I don't think we can afford to take both Ferns & Hansford. I hope you're right about Hamlin.

My math is based on the fact that we have 71 scholarship players eligible to return next year (including Walker). You're projecting 24 in this class (20 commits + Nixon, Hamlin, Hansford, and a surprise). 71 + 24 = 95. That means 10 of the 71 would have to come off scholarship. Walker might be one of them but you would still need 9 more. I struggle to see how we get that many.

 

[Jerademan74]

On the radar:

Fuller - OSU lean
Nixon - PSU or GA
Ferns - PSU or WV
Hamlin - PSU, ND, or OSU
Hansford - PSU

I think we get Ferns or Hansford plus one other. That would be 22 total assuming we don't lose anybody. It also means that 8 kids would leave early or not have their scholarship renewed.

I don't know who we get from this group, but the chances of getting 3 out of this group of 5 is high, but not as high as us losing at least 1 or 2 verbal commitments from the current list. Therefore I think we'll get 3 out of 5 from your list, and then get 1 or 2 additional from kids who are committed elsewhere now, but will switch to us before signing day!

 

[psengr82]

I think we get Nixon, Hamlin, and Hansford plus a surprise (at the moment I would count Ferns as a surprise). As we talked about many times, your math assumes Walker got a multiple year scholarship, it was always my impression that Run-Ons who are put on scholarship are only one year scholarships.

A former Run-On who is also a team captain isn't going to lose his scholarship...at least I sure hope he won't. That would send a very bad message to the rest of the team.

 

[GregInPitt]

On the radar:

Fuller - OSU lean
Nixon - PSU or GA
Ferns - PSU or WV
Hamlin - PSU, ND, or OSU
Hansford - PSU

I think we get Ferns or Hansford plus one other. That would be 22 total assuming we don't lose anybody. It also means that 8 kids would leave early or not have their scholarship renewed.

I don't count out the possibility that CJF gets 25 total. I can't count him out against anyone, even Urban. I know all about Pryts' family ties to PSU, but a month ago he was all in to oh-high-ya st, and look at it now.

Ferns is between the Hoopies and us. I won't consider it an upset at all if CJF gets him, but I agree that CJF probably won't take more than 1 additional LB. But we have been surprised before so if he gets both Ferns and Hansford all the better.

Regarding Nixon, the other schools that have gotten in the game with him all have multiple receivers in their classes. Georgia with 4 already, and Auburn with 2 (and one of them is Stove a top 10 in the country WR). although we are deep at WR, being the only WR in the class would be pretty special and put him in position to contribute big time as an upper classman. Plus, PSU has far superior academics and Nixon must be considering academics to come north.

For all we know Fuller could be ready to commit to PSU, as he does not say anything to anyone.

Of your list I would rank them in order of their likely commitment to PSU as (but who really knows....):

1. Hansford
2. Nixon
3. Surprise(s)
4. Ferns
5. Fuller
6. Hamlin

 

[PSUNurse81]

Nixon
Hamlin
Hansford
and a JUCO player like Chavis

if Ferns doesn't visit write him off to WVU

 

[Alphabets]

At this point, 1 or 2 more would be icing on the cake. I'm more concerned about keeping the ones we have. If we can do that through February, this will go down as one of the best classes we have ever had, and set us up wonderfully for 2017.

 

[blion72]

I would think anyone that is a 5th year player (RS-SR) would not get a scholarship unless they are a starter or significant contributor. That type of student should have their degree, and be in grad school. they could go to grad school, and still be part of the team, but JF does not have the luxury of giving that type of player a scholarship. most are not going to hang around anyhow, but for those who want to, it cant be on scholie.

 

[bdgan]

I would think anyone that is a 5th year player (RS-SR) would not get a scholarship unless they are a starter or significant contributor. That type of student should have their degree, and be in grad school. they could go to grad school, and still be part of the team, but JF does not have the luxury of giving that type of player a scholarship. most are not going to hang around anyhow, but for those who want to, it cant be on scholie.

Agreed but we only have 11 RS juniors.

Kiley
Wartman
Golden
Lewis
Wooten
Wilkerson
Lynch
Dowrey
Laurent
Gaia
A. Johnson


I think Dowrey, Gaia, and Laurent would be significant contributors on the OL next year. Same for Wartman, Lewis, Lynch, & A. Johnson. Walker could come off scholarship but he was named a team captain this year. Assuming A. Johnson leaves for the NFL you've got a total of 5 RS JRs not returning. You might stretch that list to 7 but not much more IMO.

 

[Option Bob]

Do you guys expect us to keep all 3 redshirt freshmen RBs? They might all be behind Barkley, Robinson, and Sanders next September (plus Lynch if he returns). I am not predicting any of them to leave; I am asking those of you who are more aware of the team dynamics than I am whether you think all 3 stay.

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

Whatever.

 

[bdgan]

Do you guys expect us to keep all 3 redshirt freshmen RBs? They might all be behind Barkley, Robinson, and Sanders next September (plus Lynch if he returns). I am not predicting any of them to leave; I am asking those of you who are more aware of the team dynamics than I am whether you think all 3 stay.

Good question. We have 6 RBS and 5 of them are freshmen eligibility. One or two might redshirt but that still leaves 6 underclassmen next year after Sanders arrives. We've got a lot of bodies at DB & WR so the only thing left is special teams. I could definitely see one asking to transfer if they are down in the depth chart.

 

[eidolon21]

there is a reason why there is only one RB is this year's class and maybe only one WR (I hope we get him). CJF is recruiting to build depth at all positions and is doing an outstanding job of it

 

[bmw199]

The scholarships will work themselves out and I do not think it will require SEC style tactics. I want the National Title and I want the number 1 graduation rate. Franklin has said he does too. I don't think naming underclassman who you think should transfer is fair. I think saying that 5th years aren't guaranteed is.

 

[mickey_PSU]

The scholarships will work themselves out and I do not think it will require SEC style tactics. I want the National Title and I want the number 1 graduation rate. Franklin has said he does too. I don't think naming underclassman who you think should transfer is fair. I think saying that 5th years aren't guaranteed is.

What isn't "fair" about it? The reality is we are limited to 85 spots and this is a place to discuss Penn State football. Part of discussing Penn State football is trying to figure out how we're going to get down to 85 given the current class distribution. I think it's fair to look at the depth chart and look at where kids stand on that depth chart and reasonably conclude who might move on. There is nothing unfair about it. If a kid wants to play and isn't going to do so at Penn State, then he has to make a tough decision. I'm sure Franklin will talk to every kid and let them know where they stand- then it's up to the kid. Additionally, based upon talent, it's also reasonable to discuss guys who may leave early to go Pro- if they have the skill and have nothing left to prove at Penn State, then so be it-- in fact, that's the win win Franklin is trying to put in place, graduate within 3.5 years- that way if you're not contributing, you got your degree, you can move on, and the team can fill the spot. That is certainly better than the SEC way of doing things. Folks may not like it but this is how it's going to work, imo, from here on out. I'll just add, I admire Franklin for his 3.5 year concept, it's great for the program and more than fair for the recruit.

 

[psengr82]

What isn't "fair" about it? The reality is we are limited to 85 spots and this is a place to discuss Penn State football. Part of discussing Penn State football is trying to figure out how we're going to get down to 85 given the current class distribution. I think it's fair to look at the depth chart and look at where kids stand on that depth chart and reasonably conclude who might move on. There is nothing unfair about it. If a kid wants to play and isn't going to do so at Penn State, then he has to make a tough decision. I'm sure Franklin will talk to every kid and let them know where they stand- then it's up to the kid. Additionally, based upon talent, it's also reasonable to discuss guys who may leave early to go Pro- if they have the skill and have nothing left to prove at Penn State, then so be it-- in fact, that's the win win Franklin is trying to put in place, graduate within 3.5 years- that way if you're not contributing, you got your degree, you can move on, and the team can fill the spot. That is certainly better than the SEC way of doing things. Folks may not like it but this is how it's going to work, imo, from here on out. I'll just add, I admire Franklin for his 3.5 year concept, it's great for the program and more than fair for the recruit.

It's only fair for those players that were recruited by Franklin. The others didn't realize they were expected to graduate in 3.5 years and therefore probably didn't load up during the Summer sessions and most likely took a very light Fall load. Graduating in 3.5 years takes a lot of planning during the early years to get the proper prerequisites in so you can get on with the upper level classes. A lot of planning.

 

[mickey_PSU]

I agree with you for the kids who were brought in under O'Brien. What I'm talking about is the future. The kids most affected right now would be the ones who either a) are buried on the depth chart and won't be asked back for their 5th year (btw, Joe did this, too); b) the underclassmen buried on the depth chart who have more than 1 year of eligibility who will not see the field- those kids have most likely been told their standing on the team and likely encouraged to move on to another school or a DII program where they might get the chance to play; or c) the kids with enough talent to go Pro after this upcoming season.

We're in a unique position right now because we took a lot of kids who, under normal circumstances, would not have been offered by Penn State. The sanctions made it tough for us to take the kind of talent we'd normally take. We were fortunate to get any kid to come to Penn State after the sanctions. I mean no disrespect to those kids, I admire them for sticking with us and coming when it wasn't popular to do so, and in a perfect world, those kids would get to play; they'd get to finish their careers with Penn State; and life would move on... but it's not a perfect world and reality requires some hard decisions. The point of this thread is to discuss how we get down to 85 so unless someone else has a great idea on how that's going to happen, I think what I'm saying pretty much sums up how we're going to get there.

 

[CappyToCJF]

I agree with you for the kids who were brought in under O'Brien. What I'm talking about is the future. The kids most affected right now would be the ones who either a) are buried on the depth chart and won't be asked back for their 5th year (btw, Joe did this, too); b) the underclassmen buried on the depth chart who have more than 1 year of eligibility who will not see the field- those kids have most likely been told their standing on the team and likely encouraged to move on to another school or a DII program where they might get the chance to play; or c) the kids with enough talent to go Pro after this upcoming season.

We're in a unique position right now because we took a lot of kids who, under normal circumstances, would not have been offered by Penn State. The sanctions made it tough for us to take the kind of talent we'd normally take. We were fortunate to get any kid to come to Penn State after the sanctions. I mean no disrespect to those kids, I admire them for sticking with us and coming when it wasn't popular to do so, and in a perfect world, those kids would get to play; they'd get to finish their careers with Penn State; and life would move on... but it's not a perfect world and reality requires some hard decisions. The point of this thread is to discuss how we get down to 85 so unless someone else has a great idea on how that's going to happen, I think what I'm saying pretty much sums up how we're going to get there.

Actually if you read the OP the point of this thread was to speculate on which players will commit to PSU to add to the 20 current commits. But then the thread was taken over by discussion on what may transpire to open scholarships, eventually degrading into a philosophical discussion on when it is ok to eject players from the football program in order to open up scholarships..zzzzzzzz

 

[mickey_PSU]

Disagree- the discussion didn't degrade. The issue is clearly part of the conversation, go back and read the OP again. Not sure what your problem is but whatever.

 

[ChiTownLion]

With 20 commitments in the Class of 2016, Penn State's 250 composite recruiting points already matches our Class of 2015 total. Ferns, Nixon, Hamlin and Hansford would bring us up to 267 points.

Franklin's classes keep getting better.

 

[danvillenit]

On the radar:

Fuller - OSU lean
Nixon - PSU or GA
Ferns - PSU or WV
Hamlin - PSU, ND, or OSU
Hansford - PSU

I think we get Ferns or Hansford plus one other. That would be 22 total assuming we don't lose anybody. It also means that 8 kids would leave early or not have their scholarship renewed.

I assume the attrition will be guys not coming back for a 5th year if they aren't going to play, their choice or Franklins. This has been going on as long as I have followed recruiting which goes back to the 90s under Paterno.