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F E A T U R E S line. Throughout their senior season, Franklin fueled a competition between the two to see who could amass more pancake blocks, and they were happy to oblige. It's not hard to imagine this duo playing opposite each other at the guard spots and plowing down most opponents who are in their path. LATE BLOOMER Cornerback Daequan Hardy =rst turned heads at a 2017 Penn State summer camp when he ran his 40- yard dash in 4.4 seconds, but his smaller stature prevented him from earning an immediate scholarship. Then as a senior at Penn Hills in Pittsburgh, Hardy made a convincing argument for himself, both on o?ense and defense, and helped lead his team to a state championship. In that =nal game, Hardy snagged three interceptions and scored four touchdowns, one on defense and another on an 84-yard kick return. Combined with some attrition on Penn State's side, Hardy =nally earned an o?er and committed on Feb. 5, then signed the next day. POSSIBLE POSITION CHANGE With Penn State bringing in =ve cornerbacks, it's likely that at least one eventually moves to another spot in the secondary. Tyler Rudolph is a candidate for safety. Then depending on how he grows, Joey Porter Jr. creates some intrigue as well. There's no doubting that Terry Smith brought Porter in as a cornerback. That's what the incoming freshman has been working toward, too. With his dad, Joey Porter, formerly working as an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Porter has had the opportunity to sharpen his coverage skills against the likes of Anto- nio Brown. He has the natural ball skills that coaches want in a CB, and at 6- foot-1, 185 pounds, he also has unique length for the position. Just how he grows into that frame will be worth watching. "He's got the longest arms you'll ever see," Franklin said. "He's an other conference came close to that total. Big 12 schools combined to land =ve =ve-star prospects, with four of those elite players headed to Oklahoma and one to Texas. Schools in the At- lantic Coast Conference signed three =ve-stars, as did schools in the Big Ten. Pac-12 schools signed only one =ve- star player. LSU landed four =ve-star players, a list headed up by Rivals' No. 1 corner- back prospect, Derek Stingley Jr. of Baton Rouge, La. Texas A&M could =n- ish among the top half-dozen teams in the country when the =nal rankings come out, as the Aggies signed three =ve-star players in their 27-player class. The best of those players is Ri- vals' No. 2-ranked strongside defensive end, DeMarvin Leal of Converse, Texas. Texas and Oklahoma have the two top recruiting classes in the Big 12. The Longhorns landed 24 players, includ- ing =ve-star athlete Bru McCoy of Santa Ana, Calif. The Sooners are close behind with a 24-player class that in- cludes three =ve-star wide receivers: Jadon Haselwood of Ellenwood, Ga., Trejan Bridges of Carrollton, Texas, and Theo Wease of Allen, Texas. It's the No. 1 wide receiver class in the country. Fresh off its lopsided victory over Alabama in the national championship game, Clem- son signed the top recruit- ing class in the ACC. The Tigers' class placed ninth in Rivals' rankings coming out of signing day, headlined by a pair of five-star prospects: receiver Joe Ngata of Fol- som, Calif., and defensive back Andrew Booth of Lawrenceville, Ga. Florida State was the only other ACC team to rank in the top 20, placing 15th. In the Big Ten, Michigan edged Penn State for the No. 1 recruiting class. The Wolverines signed 27 players, including =ve-star safety Daxton Hill of Tulsa, Okla., and =ve-star defensive tackle Christopher Hinton of Nor- cross, Ga. Nebraska surged to No. 16, while Ohio State slid out of the top 20 with a 17-player class that was ranked 21st as of early February. A@er a frantic 2018 re- cruiting cycle in which it had to scramble to replace Florida State- bound head coach Willie Taggart, Ore- gon bounced back strong this year under Mario Cristobal, sign- ing the top class in the Pac-12. The Ducks ended up signing 26 players in their sev- enth-rated class. The most notable of those players was Rivals' No. 1 strongside defensive end, Kayvon Thi- bodeaux of Westlake Village, Calif. Thi- bodeaux is an early en- rollee and =gures to be a force on an Oregon defense that has made big strides the past few years under coordina- tor Jim Leavitt. Southern Cal (18th) and Washington (19th) were the only other Pac-12 schools in the top 20. Except for the rise of Oregon and Texas A&M, there weren't a lot of surprises in Ri- vals' top 10. The rich got richer. That's especially true of Georgia and Alabama. ■ RIVALS NATIONAL 1. Georgia 2. Alabama 3. LSU 4. Texas 5. Oklahoma 6. Texas A&M 7. Oregon 8. Florida 9. Clemson 10. Michigan 11. Penn State 12. Tennessee 13. Auburn 14. Notre Dame 15. Florida State 16. Nebraska 17. South Carolina 18. Southern Cal 19. Washington 20. Arkansas

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