Penn State Sports Magazine
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5 8 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M T hey say that in negotiations, if no- body ends up satisfied with the fi- nal agreement, it was probably a good deal. The same can be said about the truth. The truth is hard, and it rarely fits cleanly into an easy narrative. Let's talk plainly about the truth of Penn State football recruiting. Fans are frustrated that the Nittany Lions have gotten middling results since Matt Campbell took over as head coach last December. Their first class, assembled under the very unusual circumstances brought on by a protracted coaching search, finished 64th in the Rivals Team Recruiting Rankings. This year's class will finish much higher, but it was still 23rd overall and eighth in the Big Ten as of early August, and that was with little room for growth remaining. Given those rankings, fans are right to be frustrated. At the same time, there are real structural and logistical chal- lenges to Campbell's start at Penn State that need to be acknowledged. Money Matters Anger tends to be rooted in fear. Penn State fans aren't angry at Campbell — they're afraid, and their fear comes from a very real and reasonable place. Teams that can't recruit at a top-10 to top-15 level can't compete for the College Foot- ball Playoff, let alone a championship. If Penn State can't recruit, its relevancy will slowly fade. It's the same anger that was directed at James Franklin. The consensus is that Penn State isn't willing to pay for top recruits. Whether it was quarterback Peter Bourque, re- ceiver Khalil Taylor or safety Gabe Jen- kins — or any other player the Nittany Lions lost along the way to their current ranking — money was always cited as the root cause. However, that's not exactly what new Penn State general manager Derek Hoodjer had to say during a conversa- tion with BWI in mid-July. As always, it's a nuanced position. "I don't ever want money to be the primary reason a young man chooses to come to Penn State," Hoodjer said. "I think that would be an unfortunate rea- son to pick a school, and I think that can lead to a scenario where the transferring in and out occurs at a higher rate than you want it to. "But at the same time, we're not na- ive to the fact that finances are a part of the decision for almost every player. We don't want money to be the reason a player that we believe in comes here, but we also don't want money to be the reason a player we believe in does not come here. We work really hard to find that middle ground and make sure that if all the boxes are checked, and this player fits us, fits the scheme and fits a need on the roster, then obviously the finances are the last box to check there." In other words, the staff is willing to be financially aggressive under the right circumstances. Penn State will spend above its comfort level to get a player the coaches truly believe in. Of course, money isn't the only fac- tor at play, and the staff does need to be better. For example, if receivers Jamir Dean and Deshawn Hall were currently Penn State football commits, this con- versation would probably not be hap- pening. It's not all about money. But it is, broadly, about money. The Nittany Lions simply haven't been bankrolled to the point where they can pay whatever it takes to land your fa- vorite recruit. The question some fans have is straightforward: How can Penn State, one of the top five most profitable ath- letics departments in the country, not have the resources to compete with just about anyone? The answer is that inter- nal revenue isn't the issue — donations For Its Recruiting Efforts To Succeed, Penn State Needs To Win T H O M A S F R A N K CA R R | T F R A N K . C A R R @ O N 3 . C O M Matt Campbell and his staff had only about seven months to put together their first two recruiting classes at Penn State. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER