Penn State has never exactly been the biggest recruiting powerhouse in the country, but from Joe Paterno to James Franklin, there’s been a steady stream of talent heading to Happy Valley. Now with Matt Campbell at the helm, the Nittany Lions will be hoping to maintain that success on the recruiting trail.
Until Campbell can adjust to recruiting in the Big Ten and build up his relationships in Pennsylvania, Penn State’s biggest recruiting wins since the turn of the century are mostly going to belong to James Franklin. A little walk down memory lane with some of the Nittany Lions’ biggest wins could even have fans missing Franklin a little bit.
Here’s the list of Penn State’s biggest recruiting wins since 2000, big-time recruits who had big-time implications on the Penn State program.
5. Micah Parsons - 2018 5-star LB
The top recruit in Pennsylvania in the 2018 class, Micah Parsons, was trending toward Ohio State before a recruiting violation during College Gameday in 2017 forced the Buckeyes to back off their pursuit. That opened the door for Franklin and Penn State, and they kept Oklahoma at bay, adding Parsons to LaVar Arrington’s St1X C1ty legacy.
Parsons had a great year in 2019, so great that he cemented his place as a surefire first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Parsons ultimately opted out of the pandemic-altered 2020 season to preserve his draft stock. With just two years, and both playing the wrong position as an off-ball linebacker rather than an edge rusher, where he’s thrived in the NFL, Parsons’ Penn State career feels a bit more like a story of what could have been. But even with the help of a violation, keeping him away from Ohio State was massive for Franklin.
4. Derrick Williams - 2005 5-star WR
In 2004, it looked as though Joe Paterno was losing his fastball. Penn State was limping to its fourth losing season in five years, but Paterno proved he still had it with the recruitment of Derrick Williams. The No. 4 overall player in the 2005 class, Williams turned elsewhere after Florida fired head coach Ron Zook, and for the Greenbelt, Maryland native, elsewhere was northward to Happy Valley.
Williams was never a superstar at Penn State, but he was a useful piece on the offense and part of a resurgence that saw Paterno’s Nittany Lions win 40 games over the next 4 years, including the 2006 Orange Bowl and a trip to the 2009 Rose Bowl against USC.
3. Drew Allar - 2022 5-star QB
Drew Allar was supposed to be the elite quarterback James Franklin was missing, the final piece to finally get Penn State over the Ohio State hurdle. However, the 6-foot-5 five-star from Medina, Ohio, came up well short of those expectations.
Still, ultimately, Allar did lead Penn State to its first College Football Playoff in program history and its first two CFP wins. That’s not worth nothing. Not to mention that because of Franklin and his staff’s ability to identify him early as a three-star, they plucked him out of Ohio and right from under Ryan Day’s nose. Allar was the keystone to Penn State’s highest-ranked recruiting class ever, bringing Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen,
2. Christian Hackenberg - 2013 5-star QB
If you think Drew Allar didn’t live up to expectations, you won’t love me reminding you that Christian Hackenberg was the No. 2 quarterback and No. 13 overall recruit in the 2013 class. Penn State’s program was legitimately on the brink of sanctions, and before Franklin could arrive to deliver the Nittany Lions back to national prominence, Bill O’Brien, with harsh scholarship limits, had to keep things from falling apart.
Yet, despite everything, Hackenberg, along with four-star tight end Adam Breneman, remained in the 2013 recruiting class. That class proved that Penn State wasn’t going away, and in 2014, Penn State landed the No. 24 class in the country headlined by Mike Gesicki, Chris Godwin, Marcus Allen, and a number of players who would go on to lead the Nittany Lions to the 2016 Big Ten title. That may not happen without Hackenberg and Breneman, even if neither of their careers went to plan.
1. Saquon Barkley - 2015 4-star RB
A PA four-star in the 2015 recruiting class, Rutgers was the first program to land a commitment from Barkley, but he was always destined to be a Nittany Lion. Penn State offered in 2013, when Bill O’Brien was still the head coach, but Franklin was able to close the deal, landing a commitment soon after he was hired away from Vanderbilt to replace O’Brien in 2014.
There were plenty of players who helped lead Penn State’s resurgent 2016 season, but Barkley was the face of those teams and almost inarguably the best player. Letting a player that talented out of the state would have been an all-time disaster for the Nittany Lions. Instead, they got an all-time legend.
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