P L A Y E R B I O S
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T
here isn't much that James Franklin
has yet to prove following the 2016
season. But even a>er a Big Ten champi-
onship and an appearance in the Rose
Bowl, many would likely agree that re-
cruiting is the strength of Penn State's
head coach and his sta<.
Following three consecutive top-25
classes, the Nittany Lions ;nished this
year with the nation's 12th-ranked class,
sending a message to the rest of the Big
Ten that they intend to be a force mov-
ing forward. Yet, if there is one facet of
Penn State's recruiting eer
the regular season concluded in
late November, he announced
that he would be sticking with the
Lions. But it wasn't their
strong performance in
2016 that convinced
him to follow
through on his
original commit-
ment.
"Honestly, it
didn't really have
that big an im-
pact," Faison-
Walden said.
"Before the season, I al-
ready knew the direction
this program was headed. I
already knew they were
only a year or two away.
They have the best
coaching sta< in the
nation and they have a
lot of great players that they've brought
in over the past couple classes.
"When I took those visits, I was really
just trying to see if I misjudged some re-
lationships and also how comfortable I
felt at those schools. It reassured me
that Penn State was the right school."
In addition to academics, Faison-
Walden also spoke very highly of his re-
lationship with the entire coaching sta<,
most notably defensive coordinator
Brent Pry. "I got to know them before my
visit, but when I was up there and I got to
meet with Coach Pry, Coach Franklin
and everyone on the sta<, it just felt
right," he said. "I was also impressed
with Coach Pry this season. He moved
up to defensive coordinator in the [2016]
o<-season, and I thought he was great at
switching things up when the time was
right. In di
