Located in central Pennsylvania, Penn State has long been the marquee Northeast institute for college football, led by the late hall of fame coach Joe Paterno for nearly half a century.
At least a three-plus hour drive from surrounding major cities Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC., Happy Valley gives Penn State a secluded locale, while remaining within arms reach of large destinations to infiltrate in recruiting.
The proximity of the school, however, pales in comparison to southern universities in Florida and Texas, which offers a chance to play competitively in football-friendly weather yearlong, meanwhile, blistering wind and unkind precipitation is subject to invade Beaver Stadium at any time.
Paterno brought two national championships and 409 wins before is firing in November 2011. Bill O’Brien fielded a 15-9 record in his two-year tenure, while securing the services of top-rated 2012 quarterback Christian Hackenberg amid cloudy times for the program.
That was the past, and the future will be led by incumbent head coach James Franklin, who vowed to dominate the state of Pennsylvania.
He’s done that since taking the office in January 2014, securing top in-state prospects in both his 2015 and 2016 recruiting classes. But Franklin and his predecessors have been able to dip into successfully branch out into other states and recruit.
But the next state on the recruiting trail? Maryland.
The current Penn State roster features nine players from the state, highlighted by starting sophomore safety Marcus Allen, one of six Maryland players from the last two recruiting classes. True freshman running back Mark Allen from Hyattsville, Maryland has seen some early touches this season, filling in for Akeel Lynch and Saquon Barkley, the top two backs on the depth chart, as they dealt with leg injuries.
Allen will be joined next year by fellow Demartha High School product and 2016 ESPN five-star defensive end Shane Simmons. Simmons highlights an impressive 2016 coup, with four of 19 commits from Maryland, the other three touted as four-star prospects.
Franklin secured a top five national class in his first full recruiting cycle at Penn State, and his success in Maryland shouldn’t come as a surprise to many and his coaching staff and him share deep ties to the state.
He spent eight seasons on the sidelines for the University of Maryland in various roles from a recruiter coordinator to offensive coordinator and assistant head coach before his departure in 2010. Penn State offensive coordinator John Donovan spent some time at the University of Maryland as well, named the assistant recruiting coordinator and assistant coach, among other positions, over the course of a decade.
The 2014 addition of Maryland and Rutgers to the Big Ten conference has invited east coast competition, though, that may not translate into much immediate pressure on Franklin & Co. as Penn State boasts an all-time 35-2-1 record versus Maryland and 24-2 record against Rutgers.
However, Maryland’s second win against Penn State did come last season in its inaugural season in the Big Ten as they heightened tension between the two programs when team captains spurned Penn State captains’ pregame handshake, which prompted an apology from recently fired head coach Randy Edsall and athletic director Kevin Anderson.
Hackenberg remains the only returning captain from that Nittany Lions group that fell to the Terrapins 20-19 at home, but he brushed off any notion of lingering ill-will of the incident this week via a teleconference.
Sure, Penn State can hang its hat on the fact its one of the most storied football programs in the nation, and the success on the recruiting trail shows in its growing pipelines. But Franklin is 4-7 in Big Ten play at Penn State. The Nittany Lions can beat out Rutgers and Maryland all they want, but they will remain second fiddle to Ohio State if these touted recruiting classes don’t translate into wins on the field.
