Blue White Illustrated

A s of early December, it appeared to some analysts that James Franklin and his sta7 were on the verge of locking up a recruiting class that was good enough to 6nish in the top 15 of the Rivals.com national team rankings, maybe even the top 10. Penn State had landed verbal commitments from two Rivals100 prospects – running back Miles Sanders and o7ensive lineman Michal Menet – and had anywhere from eight to 11 four-star verbal commit- ments, depending on which recruiting website you consulted. As late as November, Penn State was still in the running for a top-6ve recruit- ing class. Rivals.com had the Nittany Li- ons with nine four-star commitments and the No. 2 class in the Big Ten behind Ohio State. Then, late in the recruiting cycle, the picture began to change. The Lions had decided to part ways with defensive line- man Christian Colon in October due to o7-6eld concerns, and once December began, the situation only deteriorated. Cornerback Lavert Hill, who had verbally committed to Penn State the previous January, decided to open up his recruit- ment. In the weeks that followed, the Li- ons also lost defensive linemen Karamo Dioubate and Michael Dwumfour, safety Andrew Pryts, linebacker Aaron Math- ews and kicker Quinn Nordin. In addi- tion, they came in second for several of the key uncommitted prospects on their recruiting board, losing linebacker Bren- dan Ferns to West Virginia, athlete Khaleke Hudson to Michigan and receiv- er Dredrick Snelson to UCF. By the time it was all said and done, USA Today listed Penn State as one of the 6ve big losers on signing day. "Once an owner of a class ranked among the top 6ve, Penn State ended up signing day hovering on the fringes of the top 25," the paper's recruiting experts wrote. They conceded that the Lions' class was still a solid group but stated that the results could have been much better. There is no question the 6nal six weeks leading up to signing day were disappointing for Franklin and his sta7. No one can dispute that there is a direct line between winning in February and winning in the fall. The best example of this connection is Alabama. The Crim- son Tide have 6nished in the Rivals top 6ve each of the past nine years, and dur- ing that span they have won four na- tional championships. Need more proof? Consider that the past 10 na- tional champions landed a top-6ve class within two years of winning their title. Penn State's late fade created some anguish both inside and outside of the Lasch Building, but I don't agree with USA Today that Penn State was one of the five biggest losers in the recruiting world this year. This class still ranks fourth in the conference behind Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State, and for the most part the Lions did a very effective job of recruiting for need, particularly on offense. Really, the only position group at which the coaching staff came up short was line- backer. Keeping all that in mind, let's take a position-by-position look at how the Nittany Lions recruited for need on both o7ense and defense: QUARTERBACK SIGNEE Jake Zembiec ANALYSIS With the departure of Christian Hackenberg, Penn State will have three quarterbacks participating in spring practice: redshirt sophomore Trace McSorley, redshirt freshman Tommy Stevens and Zembiec. One of the best moves that Franklin and his sta7 made during this recruiting cycle was to sign Zembiec. Not only was he rated one of the top three quarterback prospects in the Northeast for the Class of 2016, he was also in position to enroll at Penn State in January. That was a cru- cial bonus. From the 6rst day Franklin arrived at Penn State, he made it clear that he con- siders it essential for the Nittany Lions to have four scholarship quarterbacks on their roster. He hasn't yet achieved that goal, as Penn State will have only three scholarship QBs in 2016, but that situa- tion is expected to change in 2017 when verbally committed prospect Sean Clif- ford arrives. In the meantime, Penn State met one of its biggest needs in 2016 with Zem- biec's signing. RUNNING BACK SIGNEE Miles Sanders ANALYSIS With redshirt sophomore Nick Scott moving to safety in spring practice, Penn State will have four scholarship running backs in the fold this spring: sophomore Saquon Barkley, redshirt sophomores Mark Allen and Johnathan Thomas and redshirt fresh- man Andre Robinson. Barkley made a spectacular debut in 2015, rushing for 1,076 yards and seven touchdowns. He appears to have the po- tential to become one of the best run- ning backs in the Big Ten over the next three years. He de6nitely has All-Con- ference potential and could even become Penn State's next All-America running back. In the wake of Barkley's emergence, Despite drama, Nittany Lions meet most of their needs with 2016 class PHIL'S CORNER

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