Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1532761
M A R C H 2 0 2 5 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / T H E B I G P I C T U R E / / / / / / / pride in, knock on wood, is that we have not had a whole lot of drama on signing day," Franklin said. "We're very upfront and honest and transparent with the families and the kids that we recruit. They know what they're getting. We know what we're getting, and we typi- cally don't have a whole lot of issues. Those guys sign, and obviously we've been recruiting them for a long time. I'm pleased with the class." On3 rates Penn State's class 14th na- tionally and fourth in the Big Ten be- hind Oregon (fourth overall), Ohio State (fifth) and Michigan (sixth). PSU has finished outside the top 10 in nine of the 12 years in which Franklin has been overseeing the program, but the Nittany Lions have consistently outperformed their rankings, both individually and as a team. This year, the Lions have two players poised to be chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft: Warren and defen- sive end Abdul Carter. Warren was a three-star prospect coming out of Atlee (Va.) High in the 2020 class, the No. 548 overall prospect and No. 24 tight end nationally in the On3 Industry Rank- ing. Carter was more highly rated as a four-star prospect but was still the No. 22 linebacker and No. 222 overall player in the 2022 class. In April, both could end up hear- ing their names called among the first dozen picks in the draft. Former Penn State player turned pod- caster Landon Tengwall made note of that disparity in a recent tweet that was widely circulated among followers of the program. Franklin saw Tengwall's tweet and replied with one word: "Develop- ment." No matter what their rankings, the members of Penn State's 2025 recruiting class are banking on that trend continu- ing in the years ahead. Some boast elite grades, some don't, but all will have a chance to max out their potential at PSU. There could be some Tyler Warrens and Abdul Carters in this group, too. ■ C L A S S O F 2 0 2 5 C O M M I T M E N T S * Name Pos Ht Wt Rating** Home School Randy Adirika^ DT 6-3 285 HHH Miami, Fla. Miami Central Owen Aliciene^ OL 6-7 255 HHHH Cheshire, Conn. Avon Old Farms LaVar Arrington II^ LB 6-3 200 HHHH Annapolis, Md. Charter Oak (Calif.) Dayshaun Burnett^ DE 6-3 220 HHHH Pittsburgh Imani Christian Academy Chaz Coleman DE 6-4 220 HHHH Warren, Ohio Warren G. Harding Jabree Coleman RB 6-0 200 HHHH Darby Township, Pa. Imhotep Charter Daryus Dixson^ CB 6-0 185 HHH Perris, Calif. Mater Dei Jeff Exinor Jr. WR 6-1 220 HHH Baltimore McDonogh School Malachi Goodman OT 6-6 310 HHHH Bloomfield, N.J. Paramus Catholic Cortez Harris DE 6-3 205 HHH Largo, Md. Riverdale Baptist Tikey Hayes^ RB 5-11 210 HHHH Aliquippa, Pa. Aliquippa Matt Henderson TE 6-5 208 HHHH Powhatan, Va. Powhatan Koby Howard^ WR 5-11 185 HHH Pensacola, Fla. Chaminade-Madonna Prep Josh Johnson S 6-2 185 HHH Ironton, Ohio Ironton Jahmir Joseph CB 6-0 180 HHHH Nyack, N.Y. St. Joseph Regional (N.J.) Yvan Kemajou^ DE 6-3 235 HHH Burtonsville, Md. Paint Branch Brian Kortovich^ TE 6-4 230 HHHH Willoughby, Ohio Villa Angela-St. Joseph Bekkem Kritza^ QB 6-5 195 HHH Chandler, Ariz. Chaminade-Madonna Prep (Fla.) Brady O'Hara OL 6-6 250 HHH Mars, Pa. North Catholic Andrew Olesh^ TE 6-5 210 HHHHH Center Valley, Pa. Southern Lehigh Matt Outten^ WR 6-1 205 HHHH Portsmouth, Va. I.C. Norcom Lyrick Samuel^ WR 6-4 170 HHH Brooklyn, N.Y. Erasmus Hall Cam Smith LB 6-0 200 HHH Salem, N.J. St. Joseph's Prep (Pa.) Alex Tatsch^ LB 6-2 215 HHHH Latrobe, Pa. Greater Latrobe Braz Thomas^ S 6-2 185 HHH Glassboro, N.J. Pleasantville Xxavier Thomas CB 5-11 175 HHH Canonsburg, Pa. Central Catholic Michael Troutman III^ OL 6-2 285 HHH Trenton, N.J. DePaul Catholic * As of Feb. 25 | ** On3 player rating as of Feb. 25 | ^ Early enrollee