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lenge," Banks said last spring. "I don't take it for granted because that's where I'm from. I know the young men who come out of that area. A lot of them are very blue-collar, hardworking, and are just looking for an opportunity to con- tinue to grow, not only as an athlete but academically. "I feel like Penn State gives that in spades. We have a really good product to sell, and a great opportunity to sell, and a lot of kids have been receptive to that." It has indeed been a mutually benefi- cial relationship, and Banks's departure has raised questions about where it goes from here. But there's an on-and-off aspect to recruiting, which means that the Nittany Lions don't necessarily need to continue enjoying the same level of success in Michigan moving forward. Penn State has sometimes gone long stretches without bringing in any Michigan signees. After the commit- ments of Anthony Zettel and Allen Robinson in the Class of 2011, the Lions didn't land any players from the state until Donovan Johnson pledged in the Class of 2017. Going back even further, to the start of the Rivals.com database, the Nittany Lions landed only a handful of players over the last decade or so of the Paterno era: Tim Shaw and Ed John- son in the Class of 2002, Chris Colasanti and Ryan Breen in 2007, Deon'tae Pan- nell in 2008 and Rob Bolden and C.J. Olaniyan in 2010. Even before Banks's departure was an- nounced, the Nittany Lions' presence in Michigan in the 2022 cycle was rela- tively limited. The players who were said to be interested were four-star safety Myles Rowser, four-star athlete Dillon Tatum and four-star defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren. Those circumstances make the transi- tion less urgent to the program's re- cruiting success in the immediate future, and they gave Franklin the flexi- bility to pursue Banks's successor – An- thony Poindexter – without regard for where the newcomer happened to be well-connected. ■ There is a circular nature to Howle's football story. ... The former Nittany Lion was at Penn State on both sides of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, watching the pro- gram go from the relative highs of the late 2000s to the uncertainty of the 2011 and 2012 campaigns. In turn Howle returns to a very different Penn State almost a decade later. Whatever shortcomings there may have been over the past few seasons under Franklin's watch, the Nittany Lions have been as successful as anyone, have a Big Ten title to their name and at least two seasons of legitimate playoff hopes. BEN JONES STATECOLLEGE.COM James Franklin took one of the boldest risks of his PSU tenure when he fired of- fensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca after one season and replaced him with for- mer Texas and Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. The Ciarrocca offense improved late in the year, and Ciarrocca himself tends to grow into jobs pretty well, improving each year. But with elite college football being ruled by the more vertical, high-upside and occasionally high-tempo offense Yurcich oversees, PSU is swinging big. BILL CONNELLY ESPN.COM T H E M O N T H I N . . . O P I N I O N S JOE KRENTZMAN & SON, INC. • Buyers and Brokers of Steel, Iron and Nonferrous Metals • Industrial Scrap Buyers • Container Service Available • Large Service Territory Since 1903 Lewistown, PA • Hollidaysburg, PA • DuBois, PA (800) 543-2000 • www.krentzman.net F irst i n S cra p

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