lineman Antonio Logan-El of Forestville,
Md., defensive end Aaron Maybin of El-
licott City, Md., All-America tight end
Andrew Quarless of Uniondale, N.Y., run-
ning back Evan Royster of Chantilly, Va.,
top-250 defensive tackle Phillip Taylor of
Clairton, Md., choice
of the Miami Dolphins in 2010.
That's indicative of the changing trends
in recruiting throughout the 1980s and
'90s. During those decades, Pennsylvania
didn't supply Penn State with very many
di=erence-makers on either o=ense or
defense. The players who ed into
the NFL.
The only Pennsylvania running backs
during the 1980s, '90s and 2000s who
ended up being dra>ed were er his most
devastating loss that if he wanted Penn
State to continue to compete for national
championships, he had to expand the pro-
gram's recruiting horizons. He had to pull
prospects from Virginia, the Carolinas
and Florida. And he had to do it without
inhibiting Penn State's success closer to
home. The Nittany Lions aimed to do well
in Pennsylvania, dominate New Jersey and
maybe not say it publicly, but treat New
York, Maryland and the northeastern cor-
ner of Ohio as if they were part of the
Keystone State.
That was Paterno's recruiting philosophy
throughout the 1980s and '90s. It's an
approach that allowed Penn State to be-
come the country's <>h-winningest Di-
vision I program, and it helped Paterno
amass 409 career victories.
It's also the reason why Franklin is poised
to make Penn State one of the top 10 pro-
grams in the country. If his
