Most college football observers would agree, that James Franklin is a good, not great college football coach. And with a 1-15 record against AP Top 5 teams over his 11-year tenure at Penn State after a 27-24 Orange Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Notre Dame, the cold hard facts would back that up. So, it may not be a surprise that on the recruiting trail - again - Franklin is good, not quite great.
Penn State’s high school recruiting classes consistently rank in the top 20 nationally, but rarely ever crack the top 10. Franklin’s 2022 class is one of two exceptions:
Penn State Recruiting Class: | 247Sports Composite Rank: |
|---|---|
2025 | 15 |
2024 | 15 |
2023 | 14 |
2022 | 6 |
2021 | 21 |
2020 | 15 |
2019 | 12 |
2018 | 6 |
2017 | 15 |
2016 | 20 |
2015 | 14 |
2014 | 24 |
That 2022 high school class just wrapped up its junior season, and if the biggest reason that Penn State made its first appearance in the College Football Playoff. However, it looked as though Franklin blew his best chance of winning a national championship with one of his only national title-caliber recruiting classes. Then, surprisingly, he gave himself another shot.
Teams spend their NIL dollars differently, and Penn State’s primary focus is always retention. While he’s not a dominant transfer portal recruiter, Franklin can keep his best players in the program as well as any coach in the country, and he proved it this offseason. Just look at the list of draft-eligible players who were weighing that option that he was able to retain:
*denotes member of 2022 recruiting class:
- Drew Allar, QB*
- Nicholas Singleton, RB*
- Kaytron Allen, RB*
- Zane Durant, DL*
- Dani Dennis-Sutton, DE*
- JB Nelson, OG*
- Zakee Wheatley, S
- Dominic DeLuca, LB
- Nick Dawkins, C
- Smith Vilbert, DE
Abdul Carter, the best player from that 2022 recruiting class and a likely top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft declared after the Orange Bowl loss as did safety Kevin Winston Jr., another 2022 recruit who was hurt for much of the 2024 season. Cornerback Cam Miller and wide receiver Omari Evans both fled for the transfer portal, and quarterback Beau Pribula departed the team prior to the CFP, but 12 players from that 26-player recruiting class remain, enough for Penn State to enter 2025 as one of the favorites to win it all.
For the Nittany Lions to be a perennial contender, Franklin’s recruiting classes need to look like the 2022 group more consistently, but if those elite classes only come around every few years, then he needs to capitalize when they do. Penn State will have a championship-caliber roster next season, thanks in large part to Franklin’s remarkable ability to keep the core of his team together, but it will be all for naught if he continues to bang his head on the scarlet and grey ceiling in the Big Ten.