Despite 'challenges,' Penn State ends up with strong recruiting class
The recruiting process for Penn State's class of 2016 was filled with challenges that made it "a little bit more interesting than normal," in the words of head coach James Franklin.
The recruiting process for Penn State's class of 2016 was filled with challenges that made it "a little bit more interesting than normal," in the words of head coach James Franklin.
But when all the signed national letters of intent arrived Wednesday at Franklin's "war room" in the Lasch Football Building, the Nittany Lions could boast a solid 20-player class that actually finished ahead of Michigan State in the rankings of two recruiting websites.
Sixteen players, including two junior-college transfers, submitted their letters on national signing day. The program already had four freshmen who enrolled in January.
The class was highlighted by two of the best players in the nation - top-ranked running back Miles Sanders of Pittsburgh and No. 2 offensive lineman Michael Menet of Birdsboro, Pa. Counting Sanders and Menet, the Nittany Lions signed 12 players who were ranked four stars or better by at least one recruiting site.
It wasn't all smooth sailing for Franklin and his staff, however. Penn State lost seven players who originally made oral commitments. Two four-star players who did so - safety/linebacker Andrew Pryts of Hermitage, Pa. (Stanford), and kicker Quinn Nordin of Rockford, Mich. (Michigan) - flipped Wednesday.
Still, the class was ranked third in the Big Ten by ESPN.com (17th overall) and 247Sports.com (19th overall), leading all but Ohio State and Michigan. Scout.com ranked Penn State 21st and Rivals.com 24th, with the Lions trailing Michigan State as well as the Buckeyes and Wolverines.
"If you take everything into consideration, I think we did really well," Franklin said.
"We've been pretty fortunate over our last five years [two at Penn State, three at Vanderbilt] not to have a whole lot of drama. We pretty much knew who was coming and who wasn't beforehand. This year was a little bit different from that perspective . . . There were some challenges. There's no doubt about it, and I'm really, really proud of the coaches and how they handled that adversity."
Franklin was particularly pleased with the strong commitments of marquee signings Sanders and Menet. He said that Sanders' mother played a huge role, that she "really saw the big picture and really believed in everything that was going on."
As for Menet, Franklin said one Big Ten coach called after offensive line coach Herb Hand left Penn State for Auburn and asked Menet whether he'd be interested in changing his mind.
"Michael said, 'Well, if you want me, you'd better take the Penn State O-line job,'" Franklin said. "That just talks about how that family is committed to us."
Penn State beefed up its defensive line with its two junior-college commitments - 6-3, 295-pound tackle Tyrell Chavis of Nassau (N.Y.) Community College, and 6-3, 285-pound Brenon Thrift of Lackawanna College near Scranton. Thrift, who originally had pledged to Temple, flipped Wednesday.
Franklin's only commitment from a Philadelphia-area player appeared to be in doubt as late as Tuesday night. Defensive end Shaka Toney of Imhotep Charter visited Pittsburgh last weekend and considered the Panthers before deciding to stay with the Nittany Lions.
The lack of involvement with Philadelphia-area recruits was a departure for the Nittany Lions, who signed seven such players last year. Franklin said the numbers he'd like to draw out of specific areas of the state vary annually according to need.
"There's going to be one year where there are 15 Division I prospects that come out of the city of Philadelphia or area of Philadelphia," he said. "There will be years where there's five. Same thing in Pittsburgh, same thing in Harrisburg. But the numbers . . . it's going to be different every single year."
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