Football is on its way back to Penn State. Now the question becomes: Will the Nittany Lions’ stars follow suit?
Standout tight end Pat Freiermuth confirmed on Wednesday that he would play, despite some previous reports that he wouldn’t return. That will be an immediate boon for the Penn State offense.
But as good as the All-American tight end is, the Nittany Lions’ best player would’ve been linebacker Micah Parsons, the Harrisburg native who opted out in August to prepare for the NFL draft, where most people expect him to go early in the first round. Parsons has signed with an agency, and in regular times, that would mean his college career is over once the ink dries.
However, 2020 isn’t normal, and head coach James Franklin isn’t giving up hope on Parsons walking back through the door.
“You always keep the door open. There’s a big difference between someone that opted out a week ago and somebody that opted out multiple weeks ago,” Franklin told reporters via Zoom. “It just makes it more complicated. It was pretty fun hitting Micah up right after it happened and watching all the fans going crazy. We’ll see how it all plays out.”
The 6-foot-3, 245-pound junior was Big Ten linebacker of the year with 109 tackles and five sacks last season. Getting a player of that caliber could be critical in perhaps finally beating Ohio State and earning an elusive playoff appearance. But the move would require the NCAA to change its rules. Or it could make an exception, similar to what has already been done in allowing everyone an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If Parsons has taken money from the agent, perhaps the NCAA can allow Parsons to repay the cash without penalty. Franklin is hoping the flexibility is there should Parsons want to play.
“I also know that Micah, as well as others, probably wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for the circumstances we’re under,” Franklin said. “I don’t think anybody — the NCAA, the Big Ten, Penn State specifically — can just put this back in, kind of, to the same box that it’s always been in because nothing right now is like it’s always been.
“We’ll see. I’m a positive guy. I’m going to try to see if there’s a way we can work it out to get him back in here if it’s everybody’s best interest, most importantly Micah’s.”
Franklin won’t have a lot of time to court Parsons. The Big Ten season is slated to start in five weeks.
Always recruiting
The Nittany Lions don’t have a single top-10 in-state recruit committed to their 2021 class, and Rivals ranks the class 38th in the country. Penn State isn’t used to being behind schools such as Maryland (24) and Rutgers (25). Franklin knows this issue needs fixing.
“I want to be clear on this, that this class is not done, but we haven’t gotten it done up to this point,” Franklin said. “We have not recruited up to the standard that we normally have, and I can make excuses, I can come up with a lot of reasons for that, but we haven’t gotten it done the way we normally have gotten it done. There’s a lot of factors that go into that, but that’s just the reality of it.”
Penn State didn’t get a spring game, which usually is a big weekend to bring potential players to campus. There haven’t been on-campus visits since March, and there won’t be for the rest of the year. This presents a unique challenge for the school.
“I’m a huge believer that we are, in my mind, what you think of when you think of the true college town on a postcard,” Franklin said. “It’s one of those things you got to come and see and appreciate first-hand. People explain it to you all they want, but you got to go and see it. Part of seeing it, a big part of our experiences are our fans and the support that we get, not just for football; you go to a volleyball game on a Tuesday, you go to a wrestling match on a Wednesday. I think that those are the things that make Penn State so special. So, it’s been different. There’s no doubt about it.”
There’s still hope to bolster the class. Derrick Davis Jr., a four-star corner at Gateway, is an important target. Three-star tight-end Khalil Dinkins from North Allegheny is another player who could end up at Penn State. With 13 kids committed, the school has about six scholarships left to give out.
If they’re able to finish strong, they could salvage a good class. Franklin knows time isn’t on his side.
“We got to be able to make some strategic changes and find a way to get it done and be successful,” Franklin said. “Up to this point, we have not lived up to our normal standards with those things. I can point out a lot of reasons, but at the end of the day, did you get the job done or not?”
More to come?
Conversation around the restart of fall sports has naturally centered on football. But Penn State and other schools field other fall programs too. Athletic director Sandy Barbour wasn’t able to give an answer Thursday on when or if soccer and volleyball, among others, will return to play.
“The biggest impediment is that the NCAA has moved the championships to the spring,” Barbour said when asked about plans for non-football fall sports.
The NCAA postponed Division I championships in August because of the pandemic, but the College Football Playoff, which crowns the Football Bowl Subdivision national champion, is run by conferences.
Nubyjas Wilborn: nwilborn@post-gazette.com Twitter: @NubyjasW
First Published: September 17, 2020, 9:15 p.m.
