Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/465739
s recruiting pitches go, it was one of the all-time best, a drop-the- mic moment from a time before mic-dropping was a thing. Joe Paterno would sit down with a prospect and his family, and after talk- ing graduation rates and career possibil- ities, maybe in between forkfuls of spaghetti and meatballs, he would make this simple point: Of the players who had completed their eligibility at Penn State under his watch, every one had ei- ther played on an undefeated team or had taken part in a national champi- onship game. Let other coaches talk potential. Pa- terno was talking results. If you were an ambitious high school prospect who wanted to play at the highest level of college football, Penn State was where you wanted to be. You didn't need to take anything on faith, because Paterno had already proven – repeatedly – that he was going to win. This was not brag- gadocio; this was reality. As Dizzy Dean once said, it ain't bragging if you can do it. The Nittany Lions could do it. Until they couldn't. Penn State slipped out of national title contention in Paterno's last decade as head coach, rendering that famous re- cruiting line null and void from the late '90s on. The team tumbled even further in the aftermath of the NCAA sanctions in 2012. Paterno's successor, Bill O'Brien, couldn't promise champi- onship runs or even bowl appearances, so he plastered the phrase "Next Level" on every flat surface and pitched Penn State as a gateway to the NFL. It's now been 21 years since the Nit- tany Lions enjoyed an undefeated sea- son, and even longer since they last played for a national title. Paterno is gone, and so is O'Brien, and yet the Li- ons do appear to have the raw material they need to build a championship-level football program. Their facilities are very good and are about to get down- right lavish with the impending $12 mil- lion renovation of the Lasch Building. Their fan following and media profile J U D G M E N T C A L L LOOKING AHEAD Amid recruiting uptick, Lions aim to turn potential into results A EYE ON THE FUTURE Franklin's strong recruiting re- sults have fueled optimism. The Li- ons landed the sec- ond-ranked class in the Big Ten accord- ing to Rivals.com. Photo by Steve Manuel