Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/260491
Michigan State and Penn State weren't as predictable. When Bill O'Brien left Penn State for the Houston Texans on Jan. 1, no one knew what would take place with the 17 verbal commitments Penn State had re- ceived before his departure. There was speculation that the Nittany Lions could lose as many as five or six of their com- mitments. But the university needed only nine days to hire James Franklin as head coach, and his arrival turned every- thing around. In the weeks that followed his appointment, Franklin lost only three of the players who had verbally com- mitted to O'Brien: defensive tackle Thomas Holley, linebacker Donte Ray- mond and defensive back Troy Vincent Jr. Franklin then added nine new verbal commitments from eight states. Four- star safety Koa Farmer of Sherman Oaks, Calif., and four-star receiver Saeed Black- nall of Manalapan, N.J., were two of the marquee players in that batch of late com- mitments. Penn State was able to land two players from Alabama in defensive end Torrence Brown of Tuscaloosa and free safety Christian Campbell of Phenix City, as well as recruits from Georgia, Virginia, Illinois, Florida and Ohio. Franklin truly made Penn State a national recruiting entity. Even more impressive than that, the Nittany Lions were able to put together what may turn out to be the No. 1 class of wide receivers in the Big Ten and maybe Penn State's best-ever group of defensive backs. Elsewhere, what took place at Michigan remains a mystery to many observers. In July, the Wolverines had 15 verbal com- mitments and were rated as having the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. But on letter-of-intent day, Michigan signed only 16 players. The Wolverines' only ver- bal commitment between mid-July and signing day was from linebacker Jared Wangler, who de-committed from Penn State in August. Michigan's class ended up being rated fourth in the Big Ten by Rivals and 31st nationally. That said, the players Michigan did sign are all excellent. Five-star defensive back Jabrill Peppers of Paramus, N.J., is the Wolverines' marquee signee, and Brady Hoke was also able to land six four-star and eight three-star players. The Big Ten school that made the biggest move on signing day was Michigan State. Mark Dantonio landed the No. 2 class in the conference, as the Spartans leapfrogged Penn State thanks to the late addition of >ve-star defensive end Malik McDowell of South>eld, Mich. Among the Spartans' 23 signings were six four-star and 14 three-star recruits. The one piece of bad news they received was the departure of defensive end Darius Slade, who de-committed then signed with Ohio State. Except for Ohio State, which >nished third nationally, Michigan State (21st) and Penn State (24th), the Big Ten's recruiting e?orts this year have to be considered a disappointment. The Wolverines typi>ed the league's struggles. In July, they had the nation's No. 1 class as rated by Rivals, but by signing day, they had plunged 30 spots in the rankings. If there was a pleasant surprise, it would have to be Indiana. The Hoosiers ended up 37th in Rivals' rankings aAer signing a 27-player class that included four-star wide receiver Dominique Booth of Indi- anapolis and four-star o?ensive lineman Tim Gardner of Milford Academy in New Berlin, N.Y. Rutgers and Maryland were not included in Rivals' Big Ten rankings, but they will o@cially join the league on July 1 and will begin Big Ten play this coming fall. Both teams had average recruiting years. Rivals ranked Maryland's class 51st overall, while Rutgers >nished 56th. The Terrapins' class was bolstered by the late arrival of >ve-star o?ensive lineman Damien Prince of Forestville, Md. Prince picked the Terps over Florida. ■ T H E C L A S S O F 2 0 1 4 RIVALS RANKINGS 1. Ohio State (3) 2. Michigan State (21) 3. Penn State (24) 4. Michigan (31) 5. Nebraska (32) 6. Wisconsin (33) 7. Indiana (37) 8. Minnesota (53) 9. Iowa (60) 10. Northwestern (69) 11. Illinois (72) 12. Purdue (75) National rankings in parenthesis I ■ Steve Manuel URBAN MEYER