Penn State Sports Magazine
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2 0 M A R C H 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M That show of loyalty produced one of the best classes of the Franklin era. Twenty-five members strong, the Nit- tany Lions' 2022 class finished seventh nationally in the On3 Consensus team rankings and second among Big Ten teams behind only Ohio State at No. 4. Penn State had its best showing since the 2018 class finished fifth and brought in three On3 Consensus five-star pros- pects in quarterback Drew Allar of Me- dina, Ohio, defensive end Dani Dennis- Sutton of Millsboro, Del., and running back Nick Singleton of Shillington, Pa. To Franklin, the coaching staff's suc- cess at keeping the class mostly intact — Pittsburgh defensive end Tyreese Fearbry and Atlanta tight end Holden Staes were the only others to bow out during the process — was a testament to the power of transparency. The Lions' eighth-year head coach said he was careful to keep prospects aware of what was happening within the program so that they wouldn't be blind- sided by anything they read or heard. "There was a lot of communication going on with our current team and with the recruits and their parents. They, I think, felt informed and weren't shocked by anything," Franklin said. "We were able to really ride that out. "It was a season that saw some un- believable highs and some challenges as well, and nobody really blinked. I love the character in this class as much as the athleticism. "You see all types of drama right now in college football and recruiting, and we haven't had a whole lot of that. I'm very appreciative and thankful for that." Early-Impact Freshmen The Nittany Lions may have landed a Day 1 starter in Alex Bacchetta of At- lanta, who was rated the nation's No. 1 punting prospect by Kohl's Kicking and could well end up taking over for Big Ten Punter of the Year Jordan Stout. However, there are some even more pressing short-term concerns, and the Nittany Lions may have addressed those, too. At the very least, they've given themselves some interesting options that they didn't have a few months ago. The first of those concerns is at run- ning back, where Singleton and four-star IMG Academy prospect Kaytron Allen have joined a backfield that struggled mightily in 2021. The Lions didn't see a single running back top 100 yards rushing in a game last year, and they plunged to 118th in the FBS with an average of 107.8 yards per game on the ground. As Franklin has noted, the team's problems were multifaceted, with the offensive line struggling as badly as the running backs. Singleton rushed for over 6,400 yards in his career at Governor Mifflin High and won National Player of the Year honors from Gatorade and the Maxwell Football Club, while Allen rushed for more than 1,400 yards as a senior at IMG Academy in Florida. The two running backs, both of whom enrolled in January, are entering a pro- gram that is entirely willing to deploy them as true freshmen if they prove in the coming months that they're capable of getting the ground game unstuck. "Every guy we recruit, we recruit with the mentality that he's going to come in and play," Franklin said. "The fact that they're coming in mid- year, both of these guys, helps with that. They've still got to go out and earn the job, but both of them have really impres- sive backgrounds. "Kaytron has a different style. He's a physical guy. He's going to punish you. "Nick is this undersized scat back who is 215 pounds and has the ability to go 80 yards. People talk about how it's almost like thunder and lightning. "I don't know if there's a better run- ning back class in the country, and Nick being named Gatorade National Player of the Year is pretty cool." Another position where the incom- ing class could make an impact in 2022 is quarterback. The Lions boast an ex- perienced veteran in super senior Sean Clifford, who has started 33 games over the past three seasons. But the only re- turning scholarship player behind him is redshirt freshman Christian Veilleux, who played in just two games last season. The dearth of experience at the posi- tion could create an opportunity for Al- lar or classmate Beau Pribula to serve as the backup quarterback in the fall. Allar is coming off a senior season at Medina High in which he threw for 4,443 yards and 48 touchdowns. Pribula, a three-star prospect, completed 73 percent of his passes for 2,575 yards and 33 touchdowns as a senior at Central York (Pa.) High. Both are already on campus, and their presence will add some intrigue to the Blue-White Game. Could they also jeop- ardize Clifford's hold on the starting spot? Franklin was cagey on that subject during his signing day presser in early February, and there's reason to think that the depth chart is at least a little bit unsettled. Clifford's most recent outing was a struggle; he completed just 14 of 32 passes for 195 yards, with a touchdown pass and two interceptions, in a 24-10 loss to Arkansas in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1. What's more, since going 10-2 in 2019, his first season as the Lions' first- team quarterback, he has gone 11-10 in games he's started. So, while the door to the starting job may not be wide open, it's at least ajar, and Franklin said as much in early Feb- ruary. "Sean is our returning starter, there's Rebounding from a preseason injury, five-star defen- sive end Dani Dennis-Sutton had 19 tackles for loss and seven sacks in McDonogh's last seven games. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER