Blue White Illustrated

Official visits will make busy weekend even busier A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 17 P enn State's annual Blue-White Game has always been a major recruiting event, but since James Franklin took charge of the program, it's become ar- guably the biggest of the year. Yes, in some ways, it's even bigger than the White Out game in the fall or the Lasch Bash barbecue in the summer. That's mainly due to sheer numbers. The staff hosted just shy of 200 prospects last year, a quarter of whom either signed this past winter or currently hold scholarship of- fers from schools in the Power Five con- ferences. This year, the Nittany Lions are ex- pected to host another large contingent of prospects for their spring game. But there will be one major difference compared to previous years. Last April, the NCAA's Di- vision I Council moved up the start time for prospects to begin using the five offi- cial visits they're allotted. Players are no longer forced to wait until September of their senior year of high school to travel at the school's expense. In addition to the traditional fall visit period, they have a three-month window in the spring of their junior year in which they are per- mitted to take official visits. The period begins April 1 and ends on the final Wednesday of June. This change in the calendar elicited mixed opinions from coaches across the country, and James Franklin was among those who saw both pros and cons. While he wasn't totally against the deci- sion, he made it clear that he had some concerns, mainly regarding the Blue- White Game. "Typically, when you do official visits, you have official visits and that's about it," Franklin said in February. "For the spring game, we usually average about 200 to 250 unofficial visitors who need to have a good time. We [also] have the game to coach. You also have the issue with hotels [in State College]. "Let's be honest, the Blue-White Game will be a big official visit weekend for us, [and] we still have to coach the game. We still have to entertain the guys who are going to come unofficially to Penn State, underclassmen and others, and then you've got [what's probably your biggest] official visit weekend of the year. It's going to be challenging." Franklin has surrounded himself with some of the best recruiters in the Foot- ball Bowl Subdivision. They will figure out a way to make sure everyone leaves Happy Valley just that: happy. Sure, it may cause them a few headaches along the way, but they also know that this is a good thing for many of the players they're targeting. For the elite junior prospects who have held scholarship offers for at least a year, the opportunity to take official visits in the spring should only help assure that they make the right decision. There will still be plenty of decommitments – that's an aspect of modern recruiting that is here to stay – but for the players who previously put in the time building rela- tionships and taking unofficial visits, these early officials should only put a bow on their recruitment, allowing them to enjoy their senior year with peace of mind. But while the new schedule should help top prospects, there are others who ei- ther bloom late or don't have the best of mentors to guide them. For those players, the decision to use their official visits in the spring could come back to haunt them. At this stage in the cycle, there are hundreds of prospects who only hold of- fers from smaller schools in the Group of Five, the consortium of lower-profile leagues that features Conference USA and the American Athletic, Mid-Ameri- can, Mountain West and Sun Belt con- ferences. Just like Penn State, schools in those conferences are also planning to host dozens of prospects for official visits in the coming weeks. It's inevitable that some of these players will end up re- ceiving opportunities from bigger pro- grams as the early signing period approaches. And just as inevitably, some of those players will regret using their official visits in the spring rather than waiting to see what materializes in the fall. As with the early signing period, it will take some time to work out the kinks in this latest change to the recruiting calen- dar. Some players will be negatively im- pacted this year and likely next, but with time, the change should prove to be a pos- itive step in a recruiting process that's only speeding up. Nittany Lion fans should take some comfort in the knowledge that Franklin and his staff are forward thinkers when it comes to recruiting. But even Franklin would tell you that it's going to take some time for he and his staff to take advantage of this rule change. That process will begin just a few days from now. one of four schools that were standing out, joining Mississippi State, Tennessee and Southern Cal. Since then, LSU has also be- come a serious player, as Thompkins took an official visit to Baton Rouge in the first weekend of April. He's now thinking about taking an offi- cial visit to USC in May or June, but noth- ing is set at this time. He plans to decide in the fall. "I'm thinking about making a decision during my season," Thompkins said. "That's why I'm trying to use my official visits this spring. I want some time to think about everything before I make that move." Last season, Thompkins totaled 414 yards rushing and 201 yards receiving, scoring five total touchdowns. He only played in six games before suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Other notable programs that have extended offers include Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia and Louisville. OPINION RYAN  SNYDER snyder42088@gmail.com

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