This is the new he wasn't Penn State material BS fans use to make themselves feel better.
You are 100% incorrect. There have been recent PSU commits (not naming names) that came to PSU and love our school, but would have gone elsewhere (OSU, for example) if that school had not taken someone higher on their recruiting board at the same position. That is happening less now with PSU's recent success on the field and because of the success PSU's staff is having with player development. However, when an Alabama or OSU fills up there are going to be super-talented kids with offers that simply cannot sign there, and they end up somewhere else. Guess what? There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Those players are going to love their school, love their team, and have the opportunity for superb CFB careers.
Not quite on that level (yet?!) is a PSU program that right now has 2 spots to fill, and wants some combination of Walker (ranked 49 overall nationally according to Rivals), Oweh (179), Parsons(6), and Smith (53). None of the other 100+ recruits with PSU offers are in a position to commit. That includes two extremely talented 4-star wide receivers who are phenomenal but cannot be part of the 2018 class unless at least three of our remaining committable targets go elsewhere. Because the staff has decided that PSU's three committed WR recruits are more than sufficient for the class, and the need for each or any of those four highly talented linemen is greater than the need for another WR. This is a simple fact.
As another example, do you truly believe that any of the three current Pitt commits that list PSU offers could call Coach Franklin and change their commitment over to PSU, thereby taking one of the those last two spots in our 2018 class? Absolutely not. That is not a slam on those players, it's just that they would not fill as important a need on PSU's roster.
In fairness, the PSU fanbase is not used to this. It's been a very long time since PSU has been in the position of having to turn away 4-star talent. And I get it, it sucks to be on the other end of it - we were there for a long time with the likes of OSU, Michigan, ND, and a few others that would often land the recruits we really wanted. So of course many would say "well, we didn't want him either" when we absolutely did. But this is entirely different.
So, you'll get your recruits over at Pitt, and we'll hopefully get two of those four who hold commitable PSU offers. Two or three of them will likely pick OSU, and thus become "not PSU material" to some
but that is a different thing.
