Blue White Illustrated

J ames Franklin and his coaching sta8 signed 22 prospects during the 7rst early signing period in Division I football. In the days leading up to the signing pe- riod, which began at 7 a.m. Dec. 20, Penn State had 20 verbally committed players in its Class of 2018. Of those players, wide receiver Shaquon Anderson-Butts of Harrisburg, Pa., was the only one who didn't sign. That was expected, as Ander- son-Butts still has work to do academi- cally. The other 19 prospects all made it o9cial within the 7rst few hours of the signing period, and three other players joined them: Micah Parsons, Jahan Dot- son and Jayson Oweh. The most notable addition was Parsons, a 7ve-star defensive end from Harris- burg. The nation's 7:h-ranked overall prospect, he took 20 uno9cial visits to Penn State. Parsons had committed to Franklin in February 2016 during a junior day. How- ever, it quickly became clear that he wasn't going to completely shut down his recruitment, as he took multiple uno9- cial visits in the months that followed, most notably to Georgia, Ohio State and Southern California. Parsons remained committed for more than a year, but he did eventually decide to open up his recruitment last April fol- lowing a visit to Penn State for the Blue- White Game. At the time, it looked as though the Nittany Lions were going to miss out on Pennsylvania's highest- ranked prospect since defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, who signed with Florida in 2010. However, Franklin and his assis- tants continued to stay in touch with Par- sons and his family, and those e8orts were ultimately successful, as the Harrisburg High standout became the second 7ve- star Pennsylvania prospect to sign with the Nittany Lions in the past year, joining Class of 2017 defensive back Lamont Wade. "I just wanted to be home with my brothers and bring back the glory," Par- sons told Rivals.com analyst Adam Fried- man following his commitment. "I took all my visits and I'm glad to be back and committed. The coaches never gave up on me since my freshman year. I've had a few bumps and transitions, and they never moved on from me. They always stayed in my corner, and that means a lot." He added, "It means a lot to be close to home and know that my family, my friends, and my city are behind me. That's why a lot of people stay home. I want to be the best athlete to ever come from Harrisburg. I can do that at Penn State." A U.S. Army All-American, Parsons was named both the O8ensive and Defensive Player of the Year in the Mid-Penn Com- monwealth Conference this past season. He was also a four-time All-State selec- tion by the Pennsylvania Football Writers Association. Joining Parsons as a late addition to the class was four-star wide receiver Jahan Dotson. In the weeks leading up to the signing period, it became clear that the Nazareth, Pa., native wasn't going to sign with UCLA, the school to which he had originally committed. Once Penn State's sta8 learned that he was interested in stay- ing closer to home, Franklin and receivers coach Josh Gattis made a late push with the the 5-foot-11, 165-pound wideout. Dotson originally earned an o8er from Penn State in December 2015. He's only taken a handful of visits to University Park, the most recent of which was in April for the Blue-White Game. However, before he committed to UCLA in early September, Dotson had been speaking regularly with multiple members of Penn State's o8ensive coaching sta8. "My relationships at Penn State are still strong," Dotson told Rivals.com following his commitment. "We stopped talking for a while, but we started talking again and those relationships are still there. Coach Gattis has been talking to me about everything. I always enjoy talking with him. He's a great guy." Oweh, a four-star defensive end from Howell, N.J., joined the class on Dec. 22, the last day that players were allowed to sign early. At the conclusion of the early signing period, Penn State's class was rated fourth nationally by Rivals, trailing only Georgia, Ohio State and Texas. Prospects can still sign letters of intent on the tra- ditional signing date, which will be Feb. 7 for the Class of 2018. ■ Lions' class ranks in top five after early signing period | READY TO ROLL Parsons poses with Franklin dur- ing a visit to Penn State. The five- star prospect signed with the Nittany Lions in December and enrolled in Janu- ary. Photo cour- tesy of Parsons family

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