Examining Penn State Football’s ROI from 2018 recruiting Class

What it all means

Penn State Football’s 2018 recruiting class came in with high expectations, expectations of changing this program and possibly even delivering a national title.

The jury is still out on if they will garner any more hardware from this class, but this class will be remembered for having put some legit talent into the NFL mixed with some big misses at the top of their board.

It is hard to ignore misses like Slade and Shorter, and then Parsons’ career abruptly ending after he opts out. However, it is a reminder that one class, and a few players can only do so much to change a program.

Franklin needs to stack a few classes together like this one if Penn State Football is going to get over the hump and not only get to the College Football Playoffs, but win when they do get there.

Their are a few members of that class that are still on this team and will have a big impact next fall; Pj Mustipher, Jahan Dotson and Jake Pinegar to name a few. This class was much more than just Micah Parsons, yet is not to be defined by the misses of Slade and Shorter.

Stars matter, but so does coaching and development, which was on full display with this recruiting class. It was not the program defining class many hoped, however it laid the ground work for a very successful 2019 season, keeping Penn State Football nationally relevant,and will play a large role in 2021.