Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/787374
O n Feb. 1, Penn State signed a re- cruiting class that ranked 12th in the country according to Rivals.com, the most highly ranked class of James Franklin's tenure as head coach. Twenty years ago, the Nittany Lions inked another stellar class, one that many considered to be the best in the country. It featured six future NFL draft picks, an eventual Pro Bowler, a two- time Super Bowl champion, an Army soldier and many future business lead- ers. The Class of 1997 initially numbered 20 players, and one additional player joined on the Saturday after signing day. Most recruiting pundits ranked it as the best class in the country. Websites such as Rivals.com didn't yet exist, and there were no star ratings or comprehensive online ranking databases. The major re- cruiting publications at the time in- cluded Student Sports, Prep Star, and the G&W Recruiting Report. In addi- tion, there were a few newspaper re- porters who covered the national re- cruiting scene, the most prominent of whom was likely Bill Buchalter of the Orlando Sentinel. All ranked Penn State's class No. 1 overall. Several oth- ers, such as SuperPrep and Tom Lem- ming, put it among the top five. Almost every publication considered LaVar Ar- rington to be the best overall recruit in the country, while offensive lineman Kareem McKenzie wasn't far behind. Those were just two of the headliners, as the BWI cover highlighted how "All- American LaVar Arrington leads a pa- rade of stars to Happy Valley." In total, at least eight were considered high school All-Americans and almost all were All-State selections. Nine of the players hailed from Pennsylvania, four were from New Jersey and Ohio, three from Virginia and one from Mas- sachusetts. By the time the last of those players completed their eligibility in 2001, the | F E A T U R E S ning backs Cam Akers of Clinton, Miss., and Khalan Laborn of Virginia Beach, Va.; and defensive end Josh Kaindoh of IMG Academy. The Hurricanes signed 24 players, in- cluding defensive back Trajan Bandy and offensive lineman Navaughn Donaldson. Both are four-star players from Miami. Clemson signed only 14 players, which explains why the 2016 national champs didn't finish with a top-20 class. But they made the most of the relatively few scholarships they had to offer, landing three five-star recruits in defensive back A.J. Terrell of Atlanta; receiver Tee Hig- gins of Oak Ridge, Tenn.; and quarter- back Hunter Johnson of Brownburg, Ind. The Big 12 had only one team – Okla- homa – ranked in Rivals' top 20. The sev- enth-ranked Sooners landed 27 players, with 18 receiving a four-star designation. Their highest-rated recruits are line- backer Addison Gumbs of Hayward, Calif.; offensive lineman Marquis Hayes of Maryland Heights, Mo.; running back Tre Sermon of Marietta, Ga.; and receiver Charleston Rambo of Oklahoma City. The Pac-12 had three schools in the top 20: Southern California (ninth), Oregon (18th) and Stanford (19th). The Trojans' top signees were defensive back Bubba Bolden of Las Vegas, defensive end Hunter Echols of Los Angeles and running back Stephen Carr of Fontana, Calif. All are four-star players. Stanford put together an interesting class. The Cardinal were only able to sign 14 players, but three of its recruits were ranked by Rivals among the top 15 overall players in the country: offensive linemen Foster Sarell of Graham, Wash., and Walker Little of Houston, and quar- terback Davis Mills of Norcross, Ga. Notre Dame also landed a top-15 class. Its most highly rated recruits were of- fensive linemen Aaron Banks of El Cer- rito, Calif., and Robert Hainsey from IMG Academy; defensive tackle Darnell Ewell of Norfolk, Va.; and tight end Cole Kmet of Arlington Heights, Ill. All re- ceived four stars from Rivals. In the American Athletic Conference, the highest-ranked team was UCF at No. 53. – PHIL GROSZ TOP CATS Looking back on PSU's No. 1-ranked Class of 1997 STAR LB Arrington was considered the top recruit in the country in 1997. Photo by Penn State Athletics