Penn State recruiting class ranks as high as 11th

James Franklin says the impact of winning the Big Ten championship and competing in the Rose Bowl on Penn State's 2017 recruiting class was "not as much as people think," but the Nittany Lions' head coach does concede that the two milestone achievements did help.

The Nittany Lions wrapped up a group of 21 incoming freshman Wednesday for the new season, with 17 players who signed national letters of intent joining four first-year players who enrolled during the current spring semester. Two of the signees did not commit to the Lions until Wednesday.

The two newcomers - defensive lineman Corey Bolds of Paterson, N.J., and defensive back Tariq Castro-Fields of Upper Marlboro, Md. - made it seven players who committed to the program after Penn State won the Big Ten championship on Dec. 3.

Speaking at a Beaver Stadium news conference, Franklin used five-star Clairton, Pa., defensive back Lamont Wade - the top-rated player among Penn State's signed recruits - as an example of how the Big Ten title and Rose Bowl berth "helped us a little bit."

"I felt like we were in really good shape with his family," he said Wednesday. "The dad realized that Lamont wanted to see that. Lamont is a guy that had been going through this recruiting process for a long time and wanted to see it all. I think it probably had a little bit of an effect on him."

The strong late run enabled Penn State to climb to 11th nationally in the Rivals.com team rankings. The Lions finished 14th on Scout.com, 15th on 247Sports.com, and 17th on ESPN.com.

Franklin said the bump from the championship and the bowl will have the biggest impact on Penn State's next two classes, in 2018 and 2019, because "these guys were sitting in their living rooms and at their high schools watching Penn State be really successful and play an exciting brand of football."

The last three commitments came this week from Mechanicsville, Va., linebacker Ellis Brooks as well as Bolds and Castro-Fields. Brooks and Castro-Fields were rated four stars while Bolds, a three-star player, gave Penn State an extra defensive tackle at a position of need following the transfer of Antoine White.

"Our staff was like our season," Franklin said. "We persevered, just kept battling. I know fans and people think the recruiting process should go smooth and perfect. I've been doing this 23 years, and it never does. You just keep recruiting. You stay positive."

As far as other areas of need, Franklin said it's a different situation from his first two seasons when Penn State was limited to 65 and 75 scholarships because of NCAA sanctions.

"Now it's going to be iron sharpens iron," he said. "It's going to be walk on campus and compete like crazy. We're going to play the best players whether they're freshmen, seniors, returning starters or not. We're going to play the best guys. . . . It's not like we have glaring holes now like we did before."

The only Philadelphia-area high school player in the class is 6-foot-5, 325-pound Cardinal O'Hara offensive lineman Des Holmes, a consensus three-star pick. He accepted Franklin's offer last summer before his senior season and went on to make first-team all-state.

"We talked to him about finishing people, playing with a toughness," Franklin said. "I think he really showed that his senior year. We were fortunate to get him early in the process because, watching his senior year, I thought he had a great year."

One of the more intriguing signees is 5-11, 194-pound running back Journey Brown of Meadville, Pa., who rushed for 7,027 yards in his career and rolled up 722 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in one game.

"When I offered him and he committed," Franklin said, "I said, 'We've got one deal here. You have to promise me you're going to rush for 700 yards and 10 touchdowns in one game at Penn State.' He guaranteed that's going to happen."

jjuliano@phillynews.com

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