Penn State Football: Kenny Sanders returns | What it means for recruiting

Penn State Football’s recruiting department will reportedly be receiving a huge boost with the addition of former assistant director of player personnel Kenny Sanders.

Sean Fitz of Lions 247 broke the news Friday afternoon that Sanders would be coming back to Happy Valley.  An official role for Sanders was not given in the report, although Fitz says it will be similar to the one Sanders held in Oregon.

Sanders was a member of the Nittany Lions‘ recruiting staff from 2014 to 2019 before taking a job with the Oregon Ducks.

Sanders had spent the last two seasons as the director of recruiting  for Oregon, in which the Ducks had two top 11 recruiting classes.

His return comes at a great time as Penn State Football’s recruiting department recently took some big hits with the departures of Charles Walker and Eric Thatcher.

Considering some of Penn State’s struggles in the 2021 recruiting cycle, bringing back one of the biggest stars you had in your recruiting department is a win for James Franklin.

Penn State’s 2022 class currently ranks fifth nationally, and with Sanders back, they have a real chance to build off of that ranking and move forward with what Franklin hopes is the best recruiting class of his tenure.

Sanders has ties to Maryland thanks to being a native of Baltimore and spending some time with the Ravens in a scouting role. With the loss of key Maryland recruiter Tyler Bowen, Sanders’ addition carries even more weight.

Sanders is just one of multiple key moves that Franklin has had this off-season. He’s already made a change at offensive coordinator, had to hire two new assistants, brought in five key transfers and was able to hold onto four draft-eligible starters.

Franklin’s aggressiveness should ensure that there isn’t a repeat of 2020’s brutal  4-5 season.