UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State put together a 20-member class, and while there was a lot of movement, in the form of flips and decommitments down the stretch, James Franklin kept going back to the cornerstones of the class.
Running back Miles Sanders, the Woodland Hills standout who signed with Penn State, was one of the program’s top signees, joining in state offensive linemen Michal Menet and Connor McGovern. Add defensive end Shane Simmons, who was the first to send his national letter of intent today, and Franklin wanted to focus on who Penn State gained, not who it lost down the stretch.
“We've been pretty fortunate over our last five years not to have a lot of drama,” he said dating back to his tenure at Vanderbilt. “We pretty much knew who was coming and who wasn't beforehand. This year was a little bit different from that perspective. But overall, we don't do a whole lot of recruiting in the 11th hour.”
Rivals ranks the Lions’ class No. 24, and while linebacker Brendan Ferns picked West Virginia over Penn State today, Lavert Hill, once a Penn State pledge, signed with Michigan, and Aaron Mathews flipped from Penn State to Pitt on Monday, Franklin wasn’t addressing those moves. He did, however, call this recruiting cycle fun and “crazy.”
“What I prefer to do, which I know you guys don’t want to, but I’d like to focus on the progress,” Franklin said this afternoon. “The last two classes were two of the better recruiting classes in the last five years. I know you don’t want to talk about that, but I would love to talk about that. I’d love to talk about how we got the No. 1 running back in the country committed to us.”
Bolstering the offensive line
Penn State added four offensive linemen in this class, and Franklin wants them to be versatile. But as the Lions add much-needed depth, Franklin would rather see the linemen master one position before shuffling them around.
McGovern, who enrolled in January and is listed at 6-5, 310, could push to see the field this year, Franklin said.
“He can run, he can jump, he came to our camp and tested unbelievably well,” Franklin said of the center. “It’s hard to play on the O-line as a freshman, but the fact that he’s here six months early and he’s already a big, physical, strong guy and very, very intelligent it gives him a shot.”
Menet, rated by Rivals as the third best player in the state and the 87th best prospect in the country, could project anywhere along the line, Franklin said.
“Menet's a guy that I think has the athletic ability to play tackle, has the intelligence to play center, has the power to play guard," Franklin said. “I’d say the same thing for, which is unusual, for McGovern. Typically centers are center only or they're center and swing guys to guard. But I would not put it past that McGovern could play tackle for us as well.”
Landing two specialists
Kicker and punter were positions of need, but Franklin wouldn’t declare scholarship kicker Alex Barbir or scholarship punter Blake Gillikin the Lions’ go-to guys just yet.
Both will arrive this summer where they’ll compete with walk-ons at their respective positions.
“You could probably make an argument over the last four years -- or excuse me, over the last two years that maybe four games could come out differently if we could have been a little more consistent on special teams in terms of swinging field position and things like that,” Franklin said. “So [we’re] having two guys come in that we've seen kick in person have been very, very successful at camps that they've gone to have been very successful at games."
Creative, not creepy
When Franklin, offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead and defensive recruiting coordinator Terry Smith took a bus to Pittsburgh prior to Penn State’s official visit weekend it was about as far as the Lions pushed the envelop this recruiting cycle.
On the bus they brought Sanders, Damar Hamlin, Khaleke Hudson and Mathews to campus for their visits, a move Franklin said isn't too unusual when trying to get kids from the same area on campus.
While Penn State did introduce Hill, the cornerback, at a men’s ice hockey game— in a move that was previously cleared by compliance but created a lot of questions about whether it was allowed— Franklin said his staff continues to base its recruiting tactics on relationships.
Jim Harbaugh of course slept over at kicking prospect Quinn Nordin’s house, and though Nordin, once a Penn State verbal pledge, signed with Michigan, don't look for Franklin to go that route anytime soon.
“We want to be creative, not creepy,” he said.
In favor of an early signing period
If there was an early signing period, perhaps Penn State’s class would’ve ended up signing a few more highly coveted pledges rather than losing them down the stretch.
Franklin remains committed to the idea that an early signing period would be in the best interest for kids who have their hearts set on one school only, but recognizes the challenges that would come with such a change.
“I think an early signing period would make sense,” he said. “And, I think you could put something on there if there was a change at the head coaching position that they would have the opportunity to be null-void at that point.
“To me, I probably have a little different opinion on this, I think the early signing period should be for the kids that wanted to go to Penn State their whole life and don't really want to go anywhere, so let's get those guys locked up. … At each state and each school there are kids like that. That actually helps the schools that are maybe wasting their time recruiting a kid as well.”
Audrey Snyder: asnyder@post-gazette.com and Twitter @audsnyder4
First Published: February 3, 2016, 4:29 p.m.