Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/79325
Sanctions force PSU to adjust recruiting strategy P ractice may be occupying most of the coaching staff's time this preseason, but recruiting cer- tainly hasn't taken a backseat as it does at some other programs this time of year. With most prospects having reaf- firmed their commitment to Penn State following the NCAA's an- nounced sanctions, and with defen- sive back Jordan Smith from H.D. Woodson High School in Washington, D.C., having joined the class, Bill O'Brien and his staff must continue putting in extra effort on the recruit- ing front. During Penn State's Media Day Aug. 9, recruiting coordinator Charles London emphasized that the staff is doing everything it can to not only retain the prospects who are al- ready committed, but also to find a few under-the-radar players to help fill out the rest of the class. "We've got a plan and we're actively working on that plan," London said. "We've got some guys who we've al- ready identified, and we know that we can't afford to miss on the offers we've handed out so far and from here on out. [Coaches] are diligently working, and we have a solid plan with a lot of good recruiters on this staff. "We have a lot of good contacts all around the country, so we're going to work with them to find the best play- ers we can." Starting in 2014, Penn State will only be allowed to have 65 players on scholarship. That means the staff will have to fill roughly 40 additional spots with players who are willing to walk on, and in some cases, possibly pass up a scholarship at another Football Bowl Subdivision school to play at Penn State. The staff was al- ready preparing to build an effective walk-on program, but now those ef- forts are even more important, espe- cially for in-state prospects. "We've reached out to all of the high schools in Pennsylvania," London said. "This is our breeding ground. There are a lot of talented players here who can be walk-ons and also make a real impact with us going for- ward. We've reached out to the coach- es [and said] that we really want to evaluate as many players as we can and just go from there. What we can do here in the state of Pennsylvania regarding our walk-on program will be very important going forward." To meet the scholarship limit, Penn State will be able to sign no more than 15 prospects this February. That will also be the case in 2014, '15 and '16. The staff had originally planned on taking at least three de- fensive backs and linebackers, as well as two running backs and wide receivers, but the loss of scholar- ships forces Penn State to make some adjustments in its pursuit of this year's class. The current crop of freshmen – and their ability to acclimate to their re- spective positions – will play a major part in how the coaching staff ap- proaches the current recruiting class. "We're obviously working on adjust- ing our numbers right now," London said. "We have a real solid plan. We're assessing our biggest needs right now, and it's going to be real important to us to see how some of these freshmen come in and how they adjust in the next few weeks and throughout the season. "We need to learn how quickly they will be ready to play, be ready to con- tribute, and then we'll go from there when it comes to focusing on what positions we need to really stress go- ing forward." Going forward. That is something O'Brien has continually stressed since the sanctions were levied. He would like for fans and alumni to focus on the future of the program and not dwell on the past. I think, however, it's also important for Penn State fans to remember what the previous staff was able to do with prospects who weren't necessarily touted as four- star recruits or better in high school. Paul Posluszny, Jordan Norwood, Deion Butler, Sean Lee and Evan Royster are just a few recent exam- ples of prospects who were three-star recruits or lower yet went on to be- come contributors for Penn State and later NFL players. While I understand this is a new staff, I have complete confidence that these coaches, too, will be able to find some hidden gems. This time, however, the staff will be finding players who truly want to be Penn Staters, too. When people look back on this era a decade or more from now, the main storyline will be the resilience of the Nittany Lion re- cruits who chose Penn State during uncertain times. It will be difficult for the staff to re- cruit in the next two classes, but like many other programs that have faced a one- or two-year bowl ban, Penn State should be able to land the high-quality athletes most have come to expect starting in the Class of 2015. For now, Penn State fans should have faith in O'Brien and his staff. I believe they will prove the doubters wrong a few years from now. "We're ready to take on the chal- lenge," London said. "We're deter- mined to lead this school back to where fans expect us to be – at the top of the Big Ten and competing for a national championship. That all starts with recruiting."