Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/590325
A t his introductory news conference in January 2014, Penn State coach James Franklin said his goal was to "dominate the state" in recruiting. He has since kept his word. Earlier this year, Franklin and his assistant coaches were able to sign seven of Rivals.com's top 10 players in the Class of 2015: Saquon Barkley, John Reid, Ryan Bates, Ryan Buchholtz, Sterling Jenkins, Sha- reef Miller and Andre Robinson. With another signing day approaching in Feb- ruary, the sta2 is building on that suc- cess, having already landed verbal com- mitments from four of Rivals' top 10 players in the Class of 2016: Miles Sanders, Michal Menet, Karamo Dioubate and Connor McGovern. No one can dispute that Franklin has done what he set out to do as an in-state re- cruiter. Can he keep it up? Recruiting is well under way for the Class of 2017, and the Nittany Lions are eager to continue their in-state success. That's because they want to do well in Pennsylvania every Upcoming in-state classes appear deep PHIL GROSZ'S TOP PENNSYLVANIA PROSPECTS CLASS OF 2017 RK NAME HT WT POS HOMETOWN SCHOOL 1 D'Andre Swift 5-10 208 RB Philadelphia St. Joseph's Prep 2 Lamont Wade 5-10 188 RB Clairton Clairton 3 David Adams 6-2 225 LB Pittsburgh Central Catholic 4 Paris Ford 6-1 170 Ath. Pittsburgh Seton LaSalle 5 Donovan Jeter 6-6 260 DE Beaver Falls Beaver Falls 6 Joshua Lugg 6-6 265 OL Wexford North Allegheny 7 Carter Lynch 6-5 305 OL Philadelphia St. Joseph's Prep 8 C.J. Thorpe 6-5 302 OL Pittsburgh Central Catholic 9 Mark Webb 6-4 180 WR Warminster Archbishop Wood 10 Damion Barber 6-4 220 DE Harrisburg Harrisburg 11 Aamir Brown 5-10 175 Ath. Philadelphia Imhotep Charter 12 Collin Smith 6-0 185 Saf. Ligonier Ligonier Valley 13 Kenny Robinson 6-2 205 LB Pittsburgh University Prep 14 Kurt Hinish 6-3 272 DL Pittsburgh Central Catholic 15 Isheem Young 5-11 185 DB Philadelphia Imhotep Charter 16 Ryan Solt 6-4 265 OL/DL Wilkes-Barre Coughlin 17 Mason Jones 6-2 175 QB Langhorne Neshaminy 18 Exree Loe 6-0 172 DB Johnstown Johnstown 19 JonAvon Freeman 6-1 200 Ath. Newtown Square Episcopal Acad. 20 DeWayne Murray 5-9 178 RB Homestead Steel Valley 21 Kyree Wade-McLeod 6-4 325 OL Philadelphia Del-Val Charter 22 Kyle McCloskey 6-4 210 QB Fort Washington Germantown Acad. 23 Nasir Boykins 6-1 180 QB Philadelphia Imhotep Charter 24 Ryan Lezzer 5-11 185 Ath. Clearfield Clearfield 25 Major Jordan 6-1 205 LB Ashland North Schuylkill CLASS OF 2018 1 Micah Parsons 6-3 235 DE/LB Harrisburg Central Dauphin 2 Isaiah Jones 6-2 190 Ath. Fort Washington Germantown Acad. 3 Zach Kuntz 6-7 215 TE Camp Hill Camp Hill 4 Chris Bleich 6-5 315 OL Plymouth Wyoming Valley West 5 Darryle Simmons 6-2 190 WR Philadelphia St. Joseph's Prep 6 Phil Jurkovec 6-5 190 QB Gibsonia Pine-Richland 7 Shaquon Anderson-Butts 6-0 170 WR Harrisburg Harrisburg 8 Mathew Bauer 6-2 205 LB Erie Cathedral Prep 9 Mamud Dioubate 6-1 180 Ath. Philadelphia Prep Charter ANALYSIS BY PHIL GROSZ