No surprises for Franklin in landing another top-15 class
Penn State coach James Franklin slept well Tuesday night, feeling secure about the 27 players who had committed to the Nittany Lions.
Everything went as planned. Franklin saw no last-minute flips and no surprises Wednesday when all 27 signed letters of intent with Penn State.
“I take a lot of pride in the fact that really over nine years (as a college head coach) we’ve had very little drama,” he said. “The older I get, the more I want to avoid drama at all costs.”
The Nittany Lions wound up with their fourth straight top-15 class, which includes six defensive linemen, five offensive linemen, five wide receivers, three linebackers and three defensive backs.
Linebacker Curtis Jacobs, who played at McDonogh School in Maryland, is the highest-rated player in the class, according to Rivals and 247 Sports. Penn State also landed a pair of three-star linebackers from Pennsylvania, Tyler Eldson (North Schuylkill) and Zuriah Fisher (Aliquippa).
“They’re three guys that we’re really excited about,” Franklin said. “I think there’s position flexibility for all of those guys. Having a guy like Curtis, who we think can play all three linebacker positions, is really valuable.
“Tyler Eldson is a throwback. His senior year film is tremendous. He came to camp before his senior year and did a great job. He’s a lot more athletic than people realize. Zuriah is a hammer. He’s been as big as 260 (pounds) and can run.”
Five other members of the class also are ranked in the top 200 in the nation by 247 Sports, along with Jacobs: Tight end Theo Johnson, defensive back Enzo Jennings, wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith, running back Caziah Holmes and defensive tackle Cole Brevard.
Eleven of the 27 are expected to enroll at Penn State in January and can participate in spring practice, Franklin said. That’s an unusually high number and perhaps a sign of the times.
“That’s going to create some real good opportunities for us for spring ball and some really good opportunities for competition,” he said. “It also increases the chance of (a player) being able to come in and compete for a job. With 11 guys coming in, how many of those guys will factor in for us? I would think a fairly high percentage.”
The departure of offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne, who was hired last week as the head coach at Old Dominion, didn’t appear to impact the class. Micah Bowens, a quarterback from Las Vegas who was rated a four-star recruit by ESPN, kept his commitment and signed Wednesday.
The 5-11, 190-pound Bowens joins a quarterback group with Sean Clifford, Will Levis, Ta’Quan Roberson and Michael Johnson.
“I couldn’t be happier for Ricky, but no one flinched,” Franklin said. “I communicated it (Rahne’s candidacy at Old Dominion) with all of the recruits and their parents. I talked about it and was very transparent about it.
“Micah is a guy we identified very early on as a dynamic playmaker from a big-time high school program. He can make plays with his feet, his arm and his mind. I think the one knock on Micah is he’s not 6-3. I would say he probably saw some Trace McSorley in himself.”