Blue White Illustrated

BY RYAN SNYDER Blue White Illustrated James Franklin got o< to an excellent start at Penn State, especially in recruiting, but the ;rst week of October was one that both the coaching sta< and fans would like to forget. The problems started Friday, Oct. 3, when rumors began to spread that four-star quarterback Brandon Wimbush of Jersey City, N.J., was looking to take an o=cial visit to Notre Dame that weekend for the Fighting Irish's game against Stanford. Wim- bush had previously ex- pressed interest in the Cardinal and attended a camp in Palo Alto with the Stanford sta<, despite being committed to Penn State. For that reason, there was speculation that he was headed to South Bend to see the visitors rather than the home team. But it quickly became clear that the Irish were very interested in Wim- bush, and that the interest was mutual. On Sunday, Oct. 5, as he was making his way home from the trip, Wimbush announced to the media that he would be talking things over with his family before making any further comment. That's when it began to look as though something had changed in his relationship with Penn State. Recruits will o>en visit other schools even a>er making a verbal commitment. They tend to give positive reviews, too, really just taken it to another level with his enthusiasm and excitement for re- cruiting. "So it's not really a surprise that they're doing well. It's a school that always had the facilities and fan base. Now they have a coaching sta< that should allow them to reach their full potential." While ;nishing in the top 15 nationally would be a phenomenal success, ;nishing on top in the conference is arguably the most important thing. As of early Oc- tober, the Nittany Lions were four spots ahead of their biggest conference rival in the national rankings, with Ohio State 14th according to Rivals. What's been even more impressive about the Lions' recruiting een over the years. The last time was in 2009-10, when the Li- ons signed Kevin Newsome, Paul Jones and Robert Bolden. To go along with those quarterbacks, Penn State appears to be on the verge of putting together back-to-back elite classes at wide receiver. Last year, the Nittany Lions finished third in the na- tion at the position, and that trend has continued, as they are set to welcome Irvin Charles of Haddonfield, N.J., Juwan Johnson of Glassboro, N.J., and Brandon Polk of Ashburn, Va. As of this writing, that trio of wideouts was rated eighth overall. At worst, it will finish a few spots outside of the top 10. The o

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