Every college football program in America is searching for methods to remain relevant with recruits while the nation is working through the new reality presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the men leading the way for Penn State is co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Tim Banks. The Detroit native came to the program in 2016 after working as defensive coordinator/secondary coach at Illinois. He’s built a secondary unit that ranked third in the nation with 10 passing touchdowns allowed in 2019. The Nittany Lions were also eighth in scoring defense, giving up an average 16 points per game.
Banks knows that keeping the momentum will always revolve around the next recruiting class. Penn State’s 2020 class is 14th in the nation, according to Rivals.
Keeping players interested in Penn State football in a time when travel is limited takes creativity.He’ll use FaceTime and other technology available as he seeks potential stars and is savvy with new-age tools. You have to be in today’s landscape. But Banks believes his advantage comes from old-fashioned concern and care.
“I’ve been recruiting for a long time and made a lot of great relationships around the country,” Banks said Thursday. “Relationships are everything, and I’ve had a chance to develop a lot of great ones and ones that really bode well for the university and me.”
For Banks, the relationships are most influential in the Midwest. He played college ball at Central Michigan and ended up coaching defense at his alma mater before spending time at Cincinnati and Illinois.
“I think it is a competitive area in general,” Banks said. “If you’re in the Midwest, which is in the Big Ten footprint, you’re fighting all the major players. I grew up there, played in the area, coached in the area, and that’s awesome, but at the same time, you still have to do a great job of vetting the right people, making sure the kids truly understand what Penn State brings to the table, and it is a challenge.”
Banks is hoping he can build on signing successes from his home state in this upcoming class. He’s already shown that a pipeline from the state of Michigan to University Park is possible with players in the secondary such as Enzo Jennings (Oak Park, Mich.) and Donovan Johnson (Detroit).
“The young men who come out of that area are blue-collar and looking for an opportunity to continue to grow as an athlete and academically,” Banks said. “I feel like we have a really good product to sell, and a great opportunity to sell, and a lot of kids have been receptive to that.”
There’s a possibility that there could be a few more kids from Detroit headed to Penn State soon. Kalen King is a four-star corner at Cass Technical in Detroit. His twin brother, Kobe, is a three-star linebacker, and the twins have both placed Penn State in their group of college finalists.
Jaylen Reed, a four-star safety at Martin Luther King High School, verbally committed to the Nittany Lions on Thursday. He held offers from Pitt, Michigan State, Florida and Georgia, among others.
Home is where the heart is..
— Jaylen Reed (@JaylenReed20) April 9, 2020
No Turning Back, I’m All In Till It’s Over
Blessed to be in the position i’m in..
C O M M I T T E D pic.twitter.com/n5MrouPycR
Signing all three would be huge. Banks has shown he can deliver. But he also isn’t resting on past accomplishments.
“I still go in and act like the area is new to me,” Banks said. “I don’t take it for granted. I still turn over every stone. I make sure to evaluate every guy. It doesn’t matter if he has a lot of offers or doesn’t have any.
“I have to continue to recruit as hard as I can. I think it’s allowed us to be successful.”
Nubyjas Wilborn: nwilborn@post-gazette.com Twitter: @nwilborn19
First Published: April 9, 2020, 6:20 p.m.