Here's what James Franklin said at his Early Signing Period press conference
Everything went according to plan for Penn State on Day 1 of the Early Signing Period.
Penn State collected signatures from five four-star recruits, including the No. 1 player from Maryland (OT Landon Tengwall), according to 247Sports. Penn State has the No. 21 class overall and the No. 5 class in the B1G, with an average rating of 88.9, according to 247Sports.
Penn State coach James Franklin reflected on the Nittany Lions’ recruiting efforts. Here’s some of what Franklin said during his press conference:
...
ESPN BET is now live in Pennsylvania
Use promo code SATURDAY to get your $250 bonus
...
Franklin on balancing NSD during a game week: “Obviously very different. It was a late night [Tuesday], and then the coaches kept doing that this morning. The coaches and myself rotated in and out of the recruiting room.”
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 16, 2020
Franklin on the 2021 class: “We’ve had very little drama on signing day. The guys that are supposed to sign have typically signed. That’s been good, been based on transparency.”
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 16, 2020
“We had a number of guys that committed to us without ever seeing the place,” Franklin added.
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 16, 2020
Franklin on the recruiting effort overall: “If you study Pennsylvania over the last 30 years, the numbers continue decrease. We have not offered a large number of in-state guys, so that makes the guys that we do offer critical to get. When you don’t get them, it’s magnified.”
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 16, 2020
Franklin noted Liam Clifford when discussing the wide receivers of the class. He said he’s known Sean’s brother since he was in 5th or 6th grade.
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 16, 2020
Franklin on using the alumni network for recruiting: “That’s what something we sell a lot, the power of our alumni base. Not only in the number of people, but the power of each of them.”
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 16, 2020
James Franklin says they’ll look to the transfer market for DE/DB answers as well as the rest of the recruiting cycle.
— Ben Jones (@Ben_Jones88) December 16, 2020
Franklin says PSU is gonna be involved in the transfer market, similar to what Andy Frank said. Looking for DEs, DBs, Franklin said. “Those positions as well as some others are going to be important for us.”
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) December 16, 2020
PSU’s adjustments today included moving the Wed. AM staff mtgs to late Tuesday night. They moved 3 p.m practice to noon because of the snow.
“Overall, we handled it pretty well,” Franklin said. “I was pleased with how the staff stayed flexible and the players stayed flexible.”
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) December 16, 2020
It’s been a down season for Penn State but today’s signings should offer optimism that the program can be swiftly turned around.
