Penn State football recruiting: Nittany Lions have big first day of early signing period

On Wednesday, James Franklin and the Penn State coaching staff signed 21 players as part of college football’s first ever early signing period.

Wednesday was a great day for Penn State football recruiting. On day one of the first ever early signing period for college football, the Nittany Lions signed 19 of the 20 commits they entered the day with. Additionally, they earned a commitment and letter of intent from two other players.

Following Wednesday’s happenings, the Nittany Lions’ 2018 recruiting class now has 22 members, 21 of which have signed their letter of intent. According to the composite rankings of 247 Sports, this gives the Nittany Lions the fourth best recruiting class in the country.

The biggest news of the day for the Nittany Lions came around 10 a.m. when five-star athlete Micah Parsons re-committed to Penn State. Parsons, who is the fourth ranked player in the country in 247 Sports’ composite rankings, will make an immediate impact for the Nittany Lions next fall.

In his press conference this afternoon, James Franklin said that Parsons will start his Penn State career as a MIKE linebacker. Parsons is set to enroll at Penn State in January, which is a great thing for Parsons and the Nittany Lions.

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You can read more about Parsons and his commitment to Penn State here.

At 12:30, four-star wide receive Jahan Dotson signed with the Nittany Lions after previously being committed to UCLA. Dotson along with Justin Shorter and Daniel George gives Penn State arguably the best wide receiver class in the country. The Nittany Lions also remain in hot pursuit of four-star wide receiver Solomon Enis.

You can read more about Dotson and his commitment to Penn State here.

While the early signing period does not end until 11:59 PM on Friday, the Nittany Lions appear to have most of their fireworks over with. At least, it appeared that way until James Franklin’s press conference this afternoon.

Franklin said that Penn State “could have some more action in the next day or so.” This could mean a variety of things, but one thing it means for certain is that it will be worth following Penn State football recruiting in the coming days.

The only member of Penn State’s 2018 recruiting class that has not yet signed their letter of intent is three-star athlete Shaquon Anderson-Butts. He is working through some things and plans to sign in February. Along with Parsons, Isaiah Humphries, Jesse Luketa, Nick Tarburton, Trent Gordon, and Zack Kuntz are all set to enroll at Penn State in January.

Along with Enis, the Penn State staff will continue to pursue four-star offensive tackle Rasheed Walker in January as the staff looks to land a signature from both on the traditional signing day in February. Furthermore, four-star defensive ends Jayson Oweh and Tyreke Smith are set to announce their commitments on January 4 at the Under Armor All-American Game. The Nittany Lions, who are battling Ohio State in both recruitments, appear to be the team to beat for Oweh and are in Smith’s top two.

This recruiting class is an elite one for the Nittany Lions. It is the best class James Franklin has signed, and it will most likely continue to improve in January, and is Penn State’s best since at least 2005.

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