STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – When he spoke at the front of the Beaver Stadium media room 1,220 days ago, new coach James Franklin explained his vision for Penn State footbaall and how recruiting could help get this program where he wanted it to go.
Owning the state and the region were the goals while recruiting nationally by position, which meant the staff’s recruiting budget also went to places it hadn’t been under the Joe Paterno and Bill O’Brien regimes, helped this program get back to a place it hasn’t been in at least a decade. Finding, offering and landing top-talent is one thing, while keeping and developing it is another.
This staff has found success doing both, which is why the 'good recruiter only' stigma that’s followed Franklin wherever he’s been irks him, and after taking a young team to the Rose Bowl last season and bringing Vanderbilt to life before that rightfully so.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a great recruiter, but I think our staff and our program is more than that,” he said last week.
Last year’s Big Ten title and Rose Bowl run continues impacting Penn State’s success on the recruiting trail, a place where the 2018 class is ranked second in the nation by 247Sports. Plus, the Lions are landing in the top 10, top 12 and top-15 lists for several elite prospects across the nation.
That change, highlighted by a 2018 quarterback pledge from Georgia, a tight end from Massachusetts and a pair of defensive backs from Texas, speaks to how much the Lions’ national perception has changed in the past few years.
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