Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1531683
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 5 5 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State made a run in this year's College Football Playoff but ultimately came up one game short of playing for the national championship, losing a heart- breaker to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9. With the coaching staff focusing on the Nittany Lions' opponents dur- ing that five-week stretch, head coach James Franklin was forced to make some changes to the team's normal recruiting process. Here's how recruiting was impacted by Penn State's playoff run: One Fewer Junior Day In previous years, Penn State hosted re- cruiting events, also known as junior days, on three of the four eligible weekends in January. There have been some changes to the recruiting calendar in recent years, and the 2025 calendar allowed for four events beginning on Jan. 11. Prominent programs across the nation took advan- tage of those opportunities, but with Penn State knowing that it would be in Miami for the Orange Bowl just two days prior, the first weekend was never going to work logistically. Janurary 18 was another date on which many schools hosted recruits, but because the national championship game was set for Jan. 20, Penn State's staff decided not to risk potentially having to cancel that event. The last thing any coach wants to do is get a player excited about a visit only to then cancel it. Because of the possibility of a conflict, Penn State's staff decided to devote its full attention to the final two Saturdays of the contact period, Jan. 25 and Feb. 1. Off-Campus Recruiting Last year, the NCAA made big changes to the rules governing how coaches are allowed to interact with recruits in Janu- ary. Previously, they could only meet with high school seniors in person that month. But with nearly all prospects now opting to end their recruitment during the December signing period, the NCAA changed its rules to allow coaches to meet with high school juniors, both at their school and for in-home visits. That change made January a key month for teams' next recruiting class, but the expansion of the playoff from four to 12 teams meant that the NCAA had to make some additional allowances for CFP par- ticipants. Because Penn State's assistant coaches were focused on the semifinals, the NCAA allowed the Nittany Lions and the other three schools still taking part in the third round of the playoff to send out members of the recruiting staff, as well as offensive and defensive analysts, as long as their teams were still playing. That impacted Penn State for the first three days of the contact period, Jan. 6-8. Instead of Franklin and his assis- tant coaches meeting with recruits, the Nittany Lions sent out director of player personnel Kenny Sanders and recruiting assistants Khalil Ahmad, Rashad Elby and D.J. Bryant. In addition, assistant running backs coach Charles Walker and director of high school relations Bob Palko went out to meet with recruits. With so many major programs having 50 or more staffers nowadays, members of the recruiting operation often have rela- tionships with prospects and their fami- lies that are just as strong as the ties that the position coaches build. In fact, mul- tiple recruits spoke very highly of those other staff members. Favour Akih, a four-star running back prospect from Rutherford B. Hayes High in Delaware, Ohio, received a visit from Walker and came away feeling positive about the experience. "The home visit was awesome," said Akih, who is the No. 196 overall pros- pect and No. 16 running back nationally, per the On3 Industry Ranking. "Coach Walker talked with me about early enroll- ment, which I plan to do. "We also discussed the opportunity to play early and the criteria they're looking for to have guys start on Saturdays. I'm really close with Coach Walker and the entire staff. They're starting to feel like family." ■ Playoff Run Forces PSU To Alter Recruiting Approach RYA N S N Y D E R | RYA N . S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M Four-star running back Favour Akih received a visit from Penn State assistant running backs coach Charles Walker in January. Teams that participated in the College Football Playoff semifinals were permitted to send additional staffers out to meet with recruits while the primary position coaches were busy preparing for games. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER