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school. I'd say that they're really high up there for me. I know my parents really en- joyed it, too. They had a blast and learned a lot, so it was a very positive trip." Another notable o7ensive lineman to make the trip was tackle Lucas Niang of New Canaan, Conn. So far, the three-star prospect has earned six verbal scholarship o7ers, with Rutgers, Syracuse and Virginia Tech being the most notable. Following his visit to Penn State, he made it clear that the Nittany Lions were in the lead, but he isn't expected to end his recruitment anytime soon. "I enjoyed the visit and liked the vibe of the school," Niang said. "I also liked the size and feeling of the stadium. PSU is somewhere I can see myself. We talked about how I could get a meaningful degree while playing good football and that they were very interested in me." While it was billed as a junior day, there were also a few sophomores and freshmen in attendance. Two of those prospects le9 town with verbal scholarships o7ers: line- backers Avery Roberts and David Adams. Roberts is a 6-2, 215-pound outside line- backer from Wilmington, Del. In addition to Penn State, he has received o7ers from Illinois, Nebraska, Rutgers and Temple. Adams attends Pittsburgh Central Catholic, the same school that produced recent Penn State signee Johnny Petrishen and 2016 target Damar Hamlin. At 6-2, 225 pounds, he is viewed as an inside linebacker at the college level. He has also received o7ers from Temple and West Virginia. "I was extremely honored," Adams said. "Penn State is just one of those special places. I can't wait to be back up. Who knows, me, Petrishen and Hamlin might be teammates again in a few years." ■ D espite the fact that James Franklin and his assistant coaches are pro- hibited from speaking with mem- bers of the 2017 and '18 recruiting class- es – coaches can't have contact over the phone or in person during high school visits until a prospect begins his junior year – the sta7 has already extended multiple scholarship o7ers to some of the nation's top underclassmen. Whether they're communicating with the players' parents or high school coach- es, as is permitted under NCAA rules, there are already 27 high school sopho- mores claiming to have received verbal scholarship o7ers from the Nittany Lion coaching sta7. These guys are located all over the country, too. In fact, one of them – defensive end Luiji Vilain – isn't even from the U.S. He lives in Ottawa. In some cases, the sta7 isn't content to wait until a player's sophomore year to extend an o7er. Believe it or not, two freshmen – defensive end Micah Par- sons of Central Dauphin High in Harris- burg, Pa., and running back Ricky Slade of C.D. Hylton in Woodbridge, Va. – have also publicly claimed that the Penn State coaching sta7 has verbally o7ered them scholarships. Yes, Penn State is of- fering scholarships to 14-year-olds. I'm sure many Nittany Lion fans never thought they would see the day. To some, Franklin's approach might seem groundbreaking. Under Joe Pater- no, only a select few prospects picked up scholarship o7ers before their junior season. When Bill O'Brien took over, he wasn't given a full allotment of scholar- ships and thus wasn't able to show where he stands on this issue. If he'd had a full 25, there's a good chance he would have been much more aggressive. But would he have made scholarship o7ers to freshmen? Tough to say. Now, don't get me wrong. Franklin and his sta7 are very aggressive when it comes to recruiting, but if you take a closer look at the national scene, their approach isn't as novel as it may seem. If anything, it is becoming the norm. According to Rivals.com, there are al- ready more than 400 high school sopho- mores nationwide claiming Division I football scholarship o7ers. Many of these prospects are not even old enough to drive themselves to their own work- outs, but they are already physically ma- ture enough to have earned an opportu- nity for a full ride at a Football Bowl Subdivision program. As for the fresh- man class, more than 50 prospects have received college scholarship o7ers de- spite having played only one season of varsity high school football. Whether you believe this is right or wrong, the pattern isn't going to change anytime soon. At Penn State's most re- cent junior day, there were, at minimum, 15 sophomores and freshmen in atten- dance. If I had to guess, I'd put the actu- al number at closer to 25. I just don't know all the underclassmen the sta7 is targeting at this point. That's how far ahead PSU is thinking. From reading message boards and speaking with Penn State fans, I know a lot of people don't like this approach. It's important to keep in mind that the sta7 isn't allowed to contact the players themselves at this time. What it can do is to initiate early uno8cial visits. When a prospect 6nds out that a school is in- terested in him, he will o9en contact the coaching sta7 on his own. If the player initiates contact, the coach can talk to him, no matter how old the player is. The way recruiting works these days, it's o9en the little things that separate contenders from pretenders. Penn State will have to win its share of games in the coming years to keep the recruiting mo- mentum going. But when it comes to creating a blueprint for the future, it's very clear that this sta7 intends to leave no stone unturned. ■ Nittany Lions must think ahead in order to keep pace

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