Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641865
MILES SANDERS CAMERON BROWN M iles Sanders had been a part of Penn State's recruiting class for more than a year, rejecting the dozens of competing scholarship o2ers he had received. But there are no sure things on signing day, so as Penn State assistant coach Terry Smith waited for the fax machine to disgorge that crucial slip of paper, he called Sanders just to make certain that everything was still going according to plan, chatting him up with every bit of banal small talk he could think of. How you doing? Did you sleep well? Did you have a good break- fast? Hey, is that the fax machine I hear? "There were some teams that really, really came hard at him," Smith said. "We feel like he's the No. 1 running back in the nation. … We couldn't a2ord to let a guy like that get away from us." They didn't. Sanders' letter of intent arrived at 8:50 a.m., one of 16 that Penn State received on Feb. 3, as James Franklin and his sta2 welcomed the bulk of a class that had already begun taking shape with the arrival in January of four early enrollees. Highlighted by Sanders and o2ensive lineman Michal Menet, both of whom received Rivals100 recog- nition, the class ranked 22nd in the na- tion and fourth in the Big Ten. It includ- ed six players who received four-star rankings from Rivals.com and 13 players who received three-star recognition. All in all, not a bad showing for a program that has been under severe constraints the past three seasons. But can you blame Smith and his fel- low coaches for feeling a bit apprehen- sive on signing day? Not really. Sanders, a Pittsburgh native who rushed for 4,573 yards and scored 59 touchdowns at Woodland Hills High, wasn't the only verbally committed Penn State recruit T H E B I G P I C T U R E Photos courtesy of Rivals.com