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Ranking Penn State’s 5 most impressive recruiting victories of James Franklin Era

By Alec Whitaker

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin interacts with members of the Penn State student section prior to the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin interacts with members of the Penn State student section prior to the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kalen King #4 of the Penn State Nittany Lions(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

3. The King Brothers (2021)

It’s been a challenge for Penn State to land recruits out of Michigan over the years but landing two at the same time… seems impossible, but it wasn’t.

Penn State landed twin brother Kalen and Kobe King back in April of 2020. Kobe, a 3-star linebacker, had offers from Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin, while Kalen, a 4-star corner back, had Michigan State and Wisconsin. If the Detroit natives wanted to play together, it looked like it would either be at Wisconsin or Penn State.

What makes this recruiting win impressive is that it took place during the lockdown period of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Kings made only one visit to Happy Valley before, and it came in January of 2020 for Junior Day. To say the least, the twins were not that familiar with Penn State.

Despite all these factors seemingly working against Penn State, the Kings chose the Nittany Lions. They added a little flavor to their commitment as well, with Kalen originally revealing a Michigan shirt and Kobe a Michigan State one, before they both took them off and showed the Penn State shirt underneath.

Kobe played in four games this past season, recording three total tackles. He is in line for a bigger role in 2022 with linebackers Brandon Smith and Ellis Brooks moving on to the NFL. Kalen burned his redshirt in 2021, appearing in 11 games with 16 tackles and four pass defends. Kalen is the favorite to start alongside Joey Porter Jr. in 2022 with Tariq Castro-Fields moving on.

The twins look to be key members of Penn State’s defense moving forward and the job done by Franklin and then safeties coach Tim Banks cannot be overlooked in this two-for-one recruitment.

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