Penn State Football: Nittany Lions’ 2014 Recruiting Class Filling Up Quickly

James Franklin hasn’t taken a day off since making his way to Happy Valley but the hard work is paying off.

Franklin has spent a lot of time on the recruiting trail and he has plenty of verbal commitments to show for it.

It’s been a confusing time for recruit watchers. Between scholarship restrictions, a few recruits heading elsewhere and a few bringing their talents to Penn State the picture is a little blurry for even the most experienced recruit gurus.

Penn State offered up a little clarity this week by hitting the reset button for everyone following the program’s recruiting efforts. Here’s where the recruiting situation stands with Signing Day set for February 5.

Five recruits enrolled early in Janurary. They count towards the 2013-14 scholarship numbers. The five newest Nittany Lions are Tarow Barney, Michael O’Connor, DeAndre Thompkins, Antoine White and Chasz Wright.

There are a total of 20 scholarships available for the 2014-15 academic year. (There can only be a maximum of 75 players on scholarship for the 2014 season according to NCAA sanctions.)

Penn State now has a total of 23 players committed to the 2014 recruiting class. Five of those players enrolled early and now count towards the 2013-14 scholarship numbers rather than the 2014 class in the eyes of the NCAA. So subtract those five players from 23 committed so far and you’re left with 18 of the 20 scholarships filled for the 2014 class. This means Penn State can add only two more verbal commitments in the coming weeks as things stand today.

So while the past week has been a hectic scramble on the recruiting front, Franklin and his staff are racing toward the Signing Day finish line. Anything is possible in the world of recruiting but Penn State’s ship is filling up fast with only those two spots remaining.

“One of the core values of this program is work ethic and it starts with the man at the top. It’s hard to out-work (Franklin) he’s a tremendous worker and he’s instilled that in all of us,” said assistant head coach Brent Pry last week.

If Franklin can get these kinds of results in only a week or two on the job, it’s very possible he’ll do even better with the 2015 class.

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