Penn State Football: James Franklin adjusts recruiting philosophy
By Andrew Adair
IMG Academy’s Kaytron Allen (13)
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Increase the Recruiting Footprint
For most programs recruiting success is tied to how well they recruit their region. The Penn State Football region includes Pennslyvania and the DMV(D.C., Maryland, Virginia) areas.
The elite programs recruit nationwide.
Franklin has extended the recruiting footprint to focus on players not within driving distance of Happy Valley.
The 2022 recruiting class included three players from Florida, Four-star RB Kaytron Allen, Four-star DL Zane Durant, and Four-star CB Cam Miller.
It also included two players from Texas and one from Georgia. Four-star S Christian Driver and Three-star WR Omari Evans are from Texas, while Three-star P Alex Bacchetta is from Georgia.
Penn State also signed TE Jerry Cross from Wisconsin and went all the way to the west coast to land OL Vega Loane from Washington.
The 2023 class is already up to eight commits. They are all from the Pennsylvania and DMV area. But, most of Penn States’ remaining targets are nationwide.
For James Franklin to continue building momentum, they have to land 8-10 players not in their wheelhouse geographically.