Penn State Recalibrates its Approach to Pennsylvania Recruiting
Penn State coach James Franklin chatted with quarterback Sean Clifford's parents this week, telling them how proud he felt that they were comfortable sending another son, receiver Liam Clifford, to play for him. Coaching brothers means you've built the right family relationship, Franklin said.
"I’m really proud of how many guys that we’ve had that their parents felt so good about the experience they had that they sent the younger brother. I think that is telling," Franklin said Wednesday, the first day of the Early Signing Period. "... We’ve also had the other end of the spectrum, where we don’t offer the older brother and that hurts us from getting the younger brother."
With that, Franklin resumed, without getting specific, the discussion about Penn State, Pennsylvania recruiting and the gap between. Penn State's 15-player Class of 2021 includes as many players from Michigan (four) as it does from Pennsylvania. It includes just one (receiver Lonnie White, Jr.) of the state's top-10 prospects, according to the 247Sports rankings.
Franklin's reference, though he didn't make it specifically, could be extrapolated to the Rucci brothers of Warwick High, both of whom chose Wisconsin. Nolan Rucci, an offensive lineman, graded as Pennsylvania's No. 1 prospect this year, according to 247Sports, and joined older brother Hayden in Madison.
Franklin has diagrammed Penn State's recent misses in Pennsylvania before, notably this summer, when he said the program hadn't "gotten it done" in the 2021 cycle. He pointed to declining football participation in the state, along with pandemic-related recruiting limitations, as being contributing factors.
This week, Franklin and several staff members detailed some of the changes they've made to in-state recruiting that they expect to pay dividends. Which they already have.
Penn State's 2022 class, which has early Big Ten and national rankings of No. 2 (behind Ohio State) according to 247Sports, includes four Pennsylvania prospects among its seven committed players. All are four-star recruits, including quarterback Beau Pribula of Central York.
As part of its refreshed plan, Penn State is delivering offers earlier, recalibrating itself in the high-profile Philadelphia market and turning toward graduate assistants, recruiting staffers and analysts with their own ties to help nurture relationships with Pennsylvania coaches.
"Everybody is saturating the state and placing an emphasis on that," said Andy Frank, Penn State's director of player personnel.
In-state talent moves in cycles, and Penn State will continue to draw players from outside its traditional territory (as it did by reaching into Alabama this year). But Pennsylvania still produces a share of elite talent annually, and Penn State can't afford to lose those players.
"Obviously, we’ve had some really top-end kids that have gotten out of the state. We can’t allow that to happen," Frank said. "We’ve got to look at each of those cases individually and figure in the future, OK, with a similar type of kid, what is it about his recruitment that’s going to make him pick Penn State or pick somewhere else? And analyze how it’s played out in the past and what we want to do in the future."
In this cycle, Philadelphia, and one school in particular, veered from Penn State. Three players from powerhouse St. Joseph's Prep, including five-star quarterback Kyle McCord, left Pennsylvania. McCord and receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr. signed with Ohio State. Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. is headed to Clemson.
To address that, Penn State added the Philadelphia region to assistant coach Terry Smith's territory. Smith, the defensive recruiting coordinator who also scouts Pittsburgh, was an assistant at Temple, so he has connections to the area.
Smith, also a former high school coach, said Penn State is looking to get Philadelphia-area schools more active in its summer camps when those are allowed to resume. Deion Barnes, a graduate assistant defensive coach who returned to Penn State after working at his alma mater Northeast High, is part of the Philadelphia press as well.
Further. Smith said Penn State has to make a "conscious effort" to be a consistent presence at programs like St. Joseph's Prep.
"We've got to build stronger relationships," Smith said. "We've got to build greater faith and trust with the coaching staffs. ... We know at places like St. Joseph's Prep, and many other programs across the state, we've got to make sure we're getting those top guys from there."
Frank, who has been with Franklin for 10 years at Penn State and Vanderbilt, said the program is generating earlier offers, to sophomores and even promising freshmen. Penn State is scouting a deeper pool of in-state talent, Frank said, and will pursue those players sooner and with more visibility.
"We're in a state that has great high school football," Frank said. "But the reality is, the numbers in the state have gone down a little bit over time. Not every year, but it kind of cycles up and cycles down. There's a premium on the years when there's not as many top-end guys that we feel confident in, and you've got to hit on them.
"We realize that. You've got to hit on those guys, and it's a challenge when you don't. Obviously it's frustrating to us when you do miss. But in years where they're bigger, we want to make sure we do hit a high percentage in the end. And we feel like we're on track to do that in the future."
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