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Penn State's Franklin adds top recruits in a hurry

Everyone who knows James Franklin talks about him being a high-energy guy, and the new Penn State coach has provided proof of that in the 25 days from the time of his Jan. 11 hiring to Wednesday's national signing day.

James Franklin poses with his daughters Addy, 5, and Shola, 6, after he was officially introduced as the new Penn State football coach. (Joe Hermitt/PennLive.com/AP)
James Franklin poses with his daughters Addy, 5, and Shola, 6, after he was officially introduced as the new Penn State football coach. (Joe Hermitt/PennLive.com/AP)Read more

Everyone who knows James Franklin talks about him being a high-energy guy, and the new Penn State coach has provided proof of that in the 25 days from the time of his Jan. 11 hiring to Wednesday's national signing day.

One day, he swept through the Philadelphia area making several stops, including one at Neshaminy High School, his alma mater. Then he flew out West and secured a recruit who changed from California to the Nittany Lions. He's staying in contact, either in person or by phone, with the players he sought for Vanderbilt and telling them they'd be welcome in Happy Valley.

When the high school recruits finally put their pens to paper on Wednesday, 19 of them are expected to formally become Nittany Lions. Another five players already are in the fold, having enrolled at Penn State last month with the start of the spring semester.

"You have to like what you see," said Mike Farrell, national recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. "The class was started very well by [former coach] Bill O'Brien, but to get some of the guys that he got down the stretch there, those are guys that were committed four-star kids. That's going to add to this somewhat depleted roster."

Farrell was referring to wide receiver Saeed Blacknall of Englishtown, N.J., who flipped his commitment from Rutgers, and Koa Farmer, a safety and linebacker from Sherman Oaks, Calif., who called off his commitment to California.

"He's a very intense, high-energy type of guy," Bob Lichtenfels, director of football operations for Preps.com, said of Franklin. "I've always felt Penn State could recruit nationally. It was undersold, I think, for a number of years. But I think he will be that type of guy who can do that. He's relentless and he's going to pursue the guys he wants to pursue."

On the eve of signing day, the Penn State recruiting class of 2014 is ranked 21st in the nation by three recruiting sites - Rivals, Scout, and 247 Sports. The Nittany Lions are ranked 22d by ESPN. Among Big Ten schools, the Lions are rated second by Scout and Rivals, and third by 247 Sports and ESPN.

The Nittany Lions have 20 scholarships for the new class, five more than the number that was part of the NCAA sanctions handed down in July 2012 before the NCAA eased the restriction last September. They can have 75 scholarship players on the 2014 roster, 10 below the maximum.

The five players who enrolled early counted against the 2013 total.

Franklin received eight oral commitments after taking over from O'Brien. Five of them came from players who had committed to Vanderbilt, where he spent three years as head coach.

Some purists frowned at Franklin's raid on his Vanderbilt commitments, but experts say that's just the way the game is played now.

"I have no issue with it," said Tom Luginbill, national recruiting director for ESPN. "It's the reality of the process and it happens every week, every month, and every year with every staff in college football. If a staff has established a relationship with that prospect, naturally there's going to be an interest on both sides."

Penn State is loaded at wide receiver with five recruits, three of whom - Blacknall, De'Andre Thompkins of Swansboro, N.C., and Chris Godwin of Middletown, Del. - received multiple four-star accolades.

"I like Blacknall and Godwin a lot because they can stretch the field, and they can go over the middle," said Brian Dohn, national recruiting analyst for Scout. "I also like the Thompkins kid; he's got some really good bursts. I think they're getting more playmakers on the perimeter in this class."

The Nittany Lions lost three players after Franklin took over, including four-star defensive tackle Thomas Holley of Brooklyn, N.Y. All in all, though, Franklin impressed.

"He hit the ground running and worked extremely hard in a short period of time," Luginbill said. "Considering the roster limitations and how careful you have to be with scholarships, I believe his staff has done a really nice job of closing for the 2014 class."

Penn State Class of 2014

PLAYER    POS.    HT.   WT.    SCHOOL (STATE)

Marcus Allen   S   6-2   188   Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. (Md.)

Mark Allen   RB   5-8   185   Dematha Catholic (Md.)

Troy Apke   WR   6-2   175   Mount Lebanon (Pa.)

*Tarow Barney   OT   6-1   290   Bambridge (Ga.)/

NW Miss. Comm. College

Noah Beh   OT   6-5   290   Scranton Prep (Pa.)

Saeed Blacknall   WR   6-3   210   Manalapan (N.J.)

Brendan Brosnan   OT   6-6   275   Maine South (Ill.)

Jason Cabinda   LB   6-1   215   Hunterdon Central (N.J.)

Christian Campbell   S   6-2   180   Central (Ala.)

Koa Farmer   S/LB   6-1   200   Notre Dame (Calif.)

Mike Gesicki   TE   6-6   230   Southern Regional (N.J.)

Chris Godwin   WR   6-2   200   Middletown (Del.)

Grant Haley   CB   5-10   180   Lovett School (Ga.)

Trace McSorley   QB   6-1   180   Briar Woods (Va.)

*Michael O'Connor   QB   6-4   226   IMG Academy (Fla.)

Amani Oruwariye   CB   6-1   175   Gaither (Fla.)

Troy Reeder   LB   6-3   232   Salesianum (Del.)

Nick Scott   WR   5-11   180   Fairfax (Va.)

Chance Sorrell   OT   6-6   250   Middletown (Ohio)

Johnathan Thomas   RB   5-11   210   St. John's Prep (Mass.)

*De'Andre Thompkins   WR   5-11   171   Swansboro (N.C.)

*Antoine White   DT   6-1   267   Millville (N.J.)

Daquan Worley   CB   5-10   175   Coatesville (Pa.)

*Chasz Wright   OT   6-7   268   Milford Academy (N.Y.)

*-enrolled at Penn State in JanuaryEndText

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