Penn State looks to change in-state recruiting misfortunes
Penn State coach James Franklin vowed to “dominate the state,” when he arrived in in Happy Valley, but the Nittany Lions have taken their lumps recently recruiting in Pennsylvania.
Since taking over the Penn State football program before the 2014 season, James Franklin has put a great emphasis on Pennsylvania recruiting.
“Dominate the State” was the slogan that Franklin created when it came to recruiting in the state of Pennsylvania. Early in his tenure, that was the case. Penn State secured commitments from nine of the top 15 PA recruits in 2015, including Saquon Barkley.
The Nittany Lions enjoyed plenty of in-state recruiting success over the next three recruiting cycles. During that span, Penn State signed 16 PA recruits, 10 of them have started at least one game for the Nittany Lions. Those recruits include the likes of Philadelphia Eagles running back Miles Sanders and projected top-10 pick Micah Parsons.
That success began to diminish starting in 2019. That year, Penn State signed only three recruits from the state, with all three being corner backs. Two of three, Keaton Ellis and Joey Porter Jr., were top four recruits in the state rankings. Daquan Hardy was not highly touted as a recruit, but the third member of the trio has garnered a lot of praise since arriving on campus.
The following cycle showed some promise, as the Nittany Lions added four recruits in the state, in addition to two JUCO players from Lackawanna College in Scranton, Pa. The four high school recruits were the 4-7 ranked players in the state.
This solid haul often gets over looked due to the fact that Penn State missed on the state’s top recruit, 5-star WR Julian Fleming to Ohio State.
Franklin recently missed out of the top recruit in his state again, when Nolan Rucci, a Penn State legacy, chose Wisconsin. Making it three straight recruiting classes since Penn Sate signed the top player in the state, the last being Parsons in 2018.
Despite these grim statistics, there’s reason for Penn State fans to be optimistic with in-state recruiting.
Franklin has three Pennsylvania commits in his 2021 class, the most notable being 4-star WR Lonnie White Jr. Offensive lineman Nate Bruce, and the nation’s top ranked kicker, Sander Sahaydak round out the group.
Derrick Davis Jr., a highly ranked safety recruit, has been at the top of Penn State’s board for years, mostly because of his relationship with Penn State corner backs coach Terry Smith, who was once the head coach at Davis’ high school.
Another 4-star, DE Elijah Jeudy, is now available after decommitting from Georgia last week. Jeudy’s teammate, Ken Talley, is a ’22 commit for the Nittany Lions, and his former high school coach, Deion Barnes, is now a grad assistant at Penn State, giving the Nittany Lions some advantages over other programs, despite him being a long shot at this time.
Penn State has also shown interest in Khalil Dinkins, the son of former NFL player Darnell Dinkins. Dinkins is an above-average athlete, but it’s unclear what position he will play in college, tight end and linebacker are the two main possibilities.
While the 2021 class could close strong, the 2022 is starting strong. Penn State already has three in-state commits, including Talley, Drew Shelton and Beau Pribula. Talley and Shelton are 4 stars, while Pribula is the top quarterback in the state. Franklin and his staff are in strong position with every top 10 Pennsylvania recruit in the 2022 class to date. It is unlikely that Penn State will land all of them, but landing just six of them would go a long way in gaining back momentum in the state.
The top prospect in that group is Enai White, a 5 star defensive end from Imhotep Institute in Philadelphia. The big-name programs are after White, but Penn State has some advantages with the aforementioned Talley, who White knows, along with Barnes who can relate to White by being a Philly guy and a fellow defensive lineman. Penn State starting defensive end, Shaka Toney, is a graduate of Imhotep, so there is some history with the school.
Other PA targets include 4-star running back Nicholas Singleton, who Penn State is in a tight battle with Ohio State for. Two 4-star wide outs in Mehki Flowers and Anthony Ivey are high on Penn State, with Ivey being close with Pribula. There is a chance Flowers is a safety at the next level as well.
Two La Salle College players standout as well, 4-star RB Samuel Brown and 3-star LB Abdul Carter. Brown doesn’t hold an offer from Penn State at this time, but definitely a name to remember. Carter does hold an offer, and at 6’3 205, he has the ideal size for an outside linebacker at Penn State. His film is also impressive, he looks to be a guy that can shoot up the rankings.
Other names to know include 4-star LB Anthony Johnson and two corners in 4-star Keenan Nelson Jr. and 3-star Raleigh Collins III.
Collins III, who in his Twitter bio describes himself as being 6’4, recently visited campus.
https://twitter.com/_RaleighCollins/status/1310322062179946499?s=20
2022 in-state recruiting is going to be defined by how Penn State does in Philadelphia and the surrounding area. Out of all the ’22 recruits mentioned, eight of them live in the city or the nearby area.
It’s still early, but with another great season in 2020, Penn State can turn the tide and regain its dominance in Pennsylvania.