Penn State Football Recruiting: Out with Urban, in with recruits

What effect with the retirement of Urban Meyer have on Penn State football recruiting?

Penn State football recruiting will benefit greatly from Urban Meyer’s departure from Ohio State. I know what you’re thinking, “Great statement, captain obvious.”

Every major program in the country looking for top talent at this point will benefit from Meyer’s decision to retire. Ohio State currently has the No. 11 recruiting class in the nation.

The benefits for Penn State are two-fold. First, they’ll have a chance to pursue any de-committed recruits, or recruits who lose interest with Meyer gone. Second, the Nittany Lions can assume that Meyer’s decision to leave the program will impact overall recruiting and possibly weaken a strong Buckeyes program he built.

Urban Meyer’s retirement announcement was followed by two Class of 2020 recruits decommitting from Ohio State. Four-star safety, Lejond Cavazaos (IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.) and four-star offensive tackle Jake Wray (Marietta HS, Marietta, Ga.) both took to Twitter to announce that they’d be reopening their recruitment. Wray’s brother currently plays for the Buckeyes.

Neither prospect has been a hot target for Penn State football recruiting. As of now, a few members of the Buckeyes’ 2019 Class have come out and said that they are firmly committed to play for Ohio State, and Meyer’s plans to leave will not change their decision.

There’s more to be said about what it can do in the future.

One of Penn State football recruiting’s top targets in the Class of 2020, Bryan Bresee, has both PSU and OSU in his top six schools. According to 247sports.com, Bresee is considered the No. 1 player in the Class of 2020.

How much of Meyer’s coaching influenced Bresee to name Ohio State one of his top six schools, and will Meyer’s departure change his interest level? Ohio State is currently considered the favorite to land Bresee, but Penn State is a very close second.

It’s too early to assume that Ohio State’s recruiting will suffer with Meyer’s departure. Ultimately, it’s one of the most prestigious programs in the country, with strong player development and NFL ties.

Penn State football recruiting faces challenges at times with teams like Ohio State in the conference. Losing an established coach like Meyer should hopefully open up more opportunities for PSU to leverage themselves in a better spot with recruits.