Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1445781
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 19 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M FIVE YEARS AGO, 2017 Safety Lamont Wade from Clairton, Pa., was the highest-rated prospect in the recruiting class that signed its letters on Feb. 1, 2017. Wade was the first Rivals.com five-star prospect to sign with Penn State during the James Franklin era, and he helped push the class's ranking to No. 12 nationally, the Nittany Lions' best finish since Franklin took over the program in 2014. Wade went on to become a two-year starter in the secondary, but one of the more noteworthy aspects of the class was how many of its members moved on from PSU before their eligibility was up. Two prospects left early to enter the NFL Draft: defensive end Yetur Gross- Matos and wide receiver K.J. Hamler. A number of others — linebackers Brelin Faison-Walden and Brailyn Franklin, defensive tackle Corey Bolds, offensive lineman Robbie Martin and receiver Mac Hippenhammer — left PSU with- out ever making much of a contribution. One other player — running back Journey Brown — seemed to be on the verge of making a huge impact after rushing for 202 yards and two touch- downs in the Cotton Bowl, but he had to give up football ahead of the 2020 season due to a previously undiagnosed heart abnormality. Despite the wave of attrition, the class did have some staying power. Two of its members will still be on the roster in 2022: quarterback Sean Clifford and safety Jonathan Sutherland. 10 YEARS AGO, 2012 The circumstances could hardly have been more difficult for new head coach Bill O'Brien in assembling Penn State's first recruiting class of the post-Pa- terno era. O'Brien had been hired less than four weeks before signing day and was con- tinuing to serve as the New England Pa- triots' offensive coordinator through- out the NFL playoffs, keeping him away from Penn State even as the 2012 re- cruiting cycle was drawing to a close. That might not seem like an insur- mountable challenge, but a lot of the legwork that ordinarily would have been done ahead of the new staff's arrival was undone by the Jerry Sandusky scandal, which had shocked the nation in No- vember and caused the class to splinter. With the scandal still fresh in many minds and the threat of NCAA sanc- tions clouding its future, Penn State ended up signing a 19-player class that ranked 50th nationally. "I could care less about player rank- ings," O'Brien huffed in a signing-day news conference Feb. 1. "What I care about is that we found the right fit for Penn State with all these prospects." For all its struggles, Penn State did find four future NFL players: defensive tackle Austin Johnson, tight end Jesse James and defensive backs Jordan Lu- cas and Trevor Williams. Johnson (New York Giants) and James (Chicago) were still on NFL rosters at the end of the 2021 season. 25 YEARS AGO, 1997 Penn State signed one of the most highly rated recruiting classes in its history on Feb. 5, 1997. The recruiting websites and star-rating systems were still a few years away, but Joe Paterno's class included eight players who had re- ceived high school All-America honors and was a consensus top-five choice by experts such as Tom Lemming and Bill Buchalter. The biggest star in the 21-player group was Pittsburgh linebacker LaVar Arrington. Named Parade Magazine's National Player of the Year, Arrington had committed to Penn State during his junior year at North Hills High and didn't take any additional visits. Arrington would go on to become a two-time All-American. Considered one of the great linebackers in school history, he won the Butkus and Bednarik Awards in 1999 and was recently elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. But as a whole, the class didn't have the impact that many had anticipated. During the players' five years on cam- pus, Penn State went 38-22. Meanwhile, the men's basketball team's second season under head coach Jerry Dunn was turning into a slog. After going 21-7 overall and reaching the NCAA Tournament in Dunn's first season, the Nittany Lions struggled the following year, winning just one of their first 12 Big Ten games. On Feb. 15, how- ever, they pulled out of their tailspin, defeating Northwestern, 61-55, at the Bryce Jordan Center. The victory ended a six-game skid, but the joy was short-lived. Penn State dropped its next three games, and after upsetting Ohio State in the final game of the regular season, it ended its season with a 26-point loss to Iowa in its Big Ten Tournament opener. — Matt Herb This Month in Penn State Athletics History Safety Lamont Wade went on to become a two-year starter in the secondary after becoming the first five-star prospect to sign with Penn State during the James Franklin era. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL