Examining Penn State Football’s ROI from 2018 recruiting Class

Wide receiver Justin Shorter #6 of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Wide receiver Justin Shorter #6 of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
3 of 5
Pat Freiermuth, Penn State Football
Pat Freiermuth #87 of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Home runs

1.TE Pat Freiermuth

Tight end Pat Freiermuth gets the nod as the  No. 1 home run in the 2018 class because he was the No. 10 rated prospect of the bunch, but might have had the most productive career of any, including all world, Mr. Everything Micah Parsons.

A four-star prospect out of Massachusetts, rated as the 224th best player in the country by 247sports, Freiermuth made a rather immediate impact as a freshman catching eight touchdowns.

Freiermuth may go down as the best Penn State Football tight end of all time, which is high praise considering the program has had some really good ones. The Massachusetts native caught 92 passes for 1,185 yards and 16 touchdowns in three seasons, but had his junior season cut in half due to a shoulder injury.

Freiermuth was as good a blocker as he was pass catcher and an all around great tight end, behind on Florida tight end Kyle Pitts on scouts big boards ahead of the NFL Draft. He figures to be a late 1st, early 2nd round pick.

He was not even the highest rated tight end in the 2018 class, Zack Kuntz was, which is why Freiermuth comes in at No. 1 on this list. The staff did a terrific job of making him a legit threat in the passing game and developing him at tight end, and would be well off to find more Pat Freiermuth’s in future recruiting classes.