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Penn State Football: James Franklin adjusts recruiting philosophy

By Andrew Adair

STATE COLLEGE, PA - SEPTEMBER 07: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions enters the stadium before the game against the Buffalo Bulls at Beaver Stadium on September 07, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - SEPTEMBER 07: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions enters the stadium before the game against the Buffalo Bulls at Beaver Stadium on September 07, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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James Franklin, Penn State Football
Penn State football head coach James Franklin (Image via York Daily Record) /

Offer Early and Often

To be successful in recruiting, you have to do one of two things; be a top-tier team that consistently puts players in the first round of the NFL Draft, or make an impression early and often.

Penn State Football falls into the latter category if you were wondering.

Over the last two seasons, Franklin has made a noticeable change to when he offers a prospect. Most of Penn States’ top recruits are being offered a scholarship in their freshman or sophomore season of high school.

The biggest and most impactful change that Franklin has made to his recruiting philosophy is the number of offers they make.

Now here comes the boring numbers that back up this philosophy change, so bear with me for a minute.

In Franklin’s first recruiting class with Penn State Football in 2015, they made 156 offers. In 2016, Penn State made 178 offers to potential recruits. Franklin bottomed out in 2018 with only 154 offers.

The dramatic change to philosophy starts to show itself in 2021.

During that recruiting cycle, Penn State offered 304 scholarships. In the highly regarded 2022 class that just signed, Penn State made a whopping 367 offers.

The race to sign the top class for the 2023 cycle is well underway.

Franklin and staff are following the blueprint from last season. They have made 280 offers so far to potential 2023 commits.

The old saying “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” applies as long as Penn State recruiting keeps bringing in top ten classes. The offering early strategy gets players thinking about a program they might not think of otherwise. The number of offers gives Penn State more chances to fill needs and spread the word about Penn State.

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