Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1538407
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 5 4 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M E D I T O R I A L MATT HERB MATT.HERB@ON3.COM VARSITY VIEWS J ames Franklin was effusive at his sign- ing day presser when he welcomed the class of 2022 to Penn State. No surprise there. Effusiveness is the default setting for every head coach when the letters of intent start rolling in. But even by the standards of college football's most relentlessly cheery day, Franklin had more reason than most to be excited when he took the podium on Dec. 15, 2021, to discuss the newest Nittany Lions. Penn State's 25-member class would go on to finish seventh in Rivals' team rankings and second among Big Ten teams. Boosted by a trio of five-star prospects — Ohio quarterback Drew Allar, Pennsylvania running back Nicho- las Singleton and Delaware defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton — it was the second-highest-rated recruiting class of his tenure at Penn State, surpassed only by the 2018 haul that brought Micah Par- sons, Jayson Oweh and Pat Freiermuth, among others, to State College. "We're excited about the guys that we're bringing in," Franklin said. "Obvi- ously, they have different rankings and ratings depending on who you're talking to, but the type of young men that we've been able to recruit, with the body types that we're looking for in terms of growth potential, athleticism, speed — overall we're very, very pleased." That class has now had three seasons in which to show its capabilities. Over that span, it's become clear that Frank- lin's enthusiasm was entirely justified. If anything, the Lions' 2022 recruiting class was underrated when it signed. When ESPN revisited the national standings from that year based on players' col- legiate productivity through the 2024 season, Penn State's class came in sec- ond behind only Michigan. To that point in their careers, those players had helped the Nittany Lions go 34-8. Penn State's success during the 2022 recruiting cycle is the main reason why it sits in the top five of the major polls going into the upcoming campaign. The three five-star players mentioned above have all lived up to their advance billing, while several of the four-star players — defensive tackle Zane Durant, running back Kaytron Allen, offensive tackle Drew Shelton — have developed into All- Big Ten-caliber performers. The Lions even hit the jackpot with a three-star prospect in interior offensive lineman Olaivavega Ioane, a late addition to the class who is now surely ticketed for an NFL career. The only disappointing aspect of Penn State's 2022 class is that it's a bit of an outlier. The 2020 and '21 classes were ranked 14th and 18th, respectively. The 2023 and '24 classes were 14th and 15th. That disparity is one of the reasons why it feels like the stakes are so high this season. Penn State's recruiting wins during the 2022 cycle, coupled with its success in convincing many of the best players in that class to stick around for their senior seasons, opened a window of opportunity this fall. That window isn't going to stay open forever. A year from now, Penn State is go- ing to be auditioning candidates for its starting quarterback spot. It will need a new running back or two to step forward. Another rebuild of the receiver corps is all but certain, given that this year's three portal additions have senior eligibility, and the Lions will likely need a whole new starting defensive line. They've surely got answers to some of those questions on campus already, and other holes can be patched via the portal. But this probably won't be a preseason top- 10 team in 2026. Ohio State and Oregon, though? Dur- ing that same five-year span from 2020- 24, the Buckeyes' classes ranked fifth, second, fourth, fourth and fourth. The Ducks' classes ranked 12th, sixth, 11th, seventh and third. Those trends have continued in the two most recent cycles, and now that Michigan appears to have gotten its NIL act together, it, too, is likely to bring in top-10 classes with regularity. Last year's class yielded five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, who figures to bedevil Big Ten defenses for the next three seasons. Recruiting isn't necessarily destiny, and Franklin has wisely sought to portray Penn State as a developmental program, the kind that can take three-star pros- pects like Ioane, Tyler Warren, Olumuy- iwa Fashanu, Ji'Ayir Brown and Kobe King and turn them into pros. Those last four are all in the NFL right now, and Io- ane will be joining them soon enough. But when Ohio State and Oregon are welcoming classes like Penn State's 2022 contingent on an annual basis, the ad- vantage is obvious. They know how to develop players, too, and if the baseline talent level is higher, it's going to show up on the field. That's ultimately where Penn State wants to be. When it has the players it needs, it can deliver what a ravenous fan base wants. But getting the players is the hardest part. For all the money it's spending on facilities these days, what PSU needs most is a way to keep its win- dow open. ■ In 2022, PSU Laid The Foundation For A Title Bid Defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton was the highest- rated player in Penn State's 2022 class, coming in 19th overall in the Rivals Industry Ranking and third among edge rushers. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS