2017 Recruiting Class Thread
- Thread starter Judge Smails
- Start date
That's a shame. I guess then we will have to kiss Mark Webb goodbye as well. I hope not tho!
I'm guessing that Barkley and Sanders are scaring him off. I can understand that though. Unless you are supremely confident in your talent, you'd have to consider other options. He'll have to compete at his other options but maybe he knows Sanders is the better back. He'll only have one year of Barkley so not sure that is a huge factor.
On the flip side of the argument and what maybe he doesn't see is that when a line of talented RBs come up through a school and perform well in the NFL, it often helps to increase the NFL draft position of those later in that pipeline. See Alabama recently for an example. They put out stud RBs every year, so every year the next in line gets a good draft grade. The bonus to the NFL team is that the RB in the pipeline hasn't been beat up on for 3 or 4 years because Bama had other elite backs and didn't have to rely on just one. Maybe that is hard for a HS kid to see though.
To me it seems like he wants to get the hell out of Pennsylvania, especially Philly. For all we know he could have had some experiences that made him want to get away. Or go to a program that is currently in a beeterbplace than PSU. Maybe success'on the field for us will change his mind.
I think the competition element is overstated. Not that he's not looking at depth charts, but it's overstated as the reason. I mean Bama is number 5 on his list and they already have the #1 player, who is a rb, in the country committed. It looks more about teams that are going to compete, or have competed recently, for a national title and the attention that follows that. The good news is both are waiting until the season to see things. Others have disagreed with me, but winning is paramount this season and looking good doing it. Barkley having insane stats, getting other players involved throughout the game, and just being relevant as a football team will turn a ton of heads. There is really no reason this team shouldn't be a heck of a lot better. (let's not start that debate here, start a new thread if you want to debate that)
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Who is the "self-important-blowhard" interviewer?
FWIW, Swift is certainly not (IMO) anywhere near a "must get" recruit (whatever that means)......just another solid RB prospect
When you realize that guys like THAT are the self-proclaimed experts......one would have to be an idiot to take their "rankings" and what not as anything meaningful at all.
Caught up with 2017 wide receiver, Jordan Pouncey from Winter Park, Florida
https://happyvalleyrecruiting.wordp...ht-up-with-2017-wide-receiver-jordan-pouncey/
https://happyvalleyrecruiting.wordp...ht-up-with-2017-wide-receiver-jordan-pouncey/
Wish Penn State had offered this TE. Don't like putting all the eggs in one basket.
Really? Then why would he consider Georgia? I don't think he is afraid of competition.
And the class of 2016 number 1 or 2 RB in the nation, along with Miles Sanders, Tavien Foster, will be at Clemson this year. All the teams he's interested in bring in elite RBs every year.
I get the point that you all believe competition isn't the problem but Miles Sanders will not be at Clemson this year.
Potentially the top back in the country, Barkley, and last year's #1 RB recruit in Sanders at PSU. That's not counting Andre Robinson, another outstanding 4 star in the PSU backfield. Not sure that any team in the nation has stocked the position as well with young talent.
I worded it poorly. Tavien Foster, ranked as high as Miles Sanders, will be a freshman at Clemson. But you must have known I meant that. It happens that you are more familiar with the PSU depth chart at RB. All the schools Swift is considering stack elite RBs.
Michigan State Insider (Sean Scherer) just put in a crystal ball this morning for Danny Davis to Penn State.
Danny Davis - WR from Springfield, Ohio. Tall and speedy (6'3). Visited Penn State this past weekend. Would help Penn State with other future Springfield targets (Ex: Leonard Taylor (DE) - 22nd ranked player in nation for 2018, currently committed to Michigan)
Danny Davis according to 247 Composite Rankings: 31st Best WR - 229 Ranked in nation
Danny Davis - WR from Springfield, Ohio. Tall and speedy (6'3). Visited Penn State this past weekend. Would help Penn State with other future Springfield targets (Ex: Leonard Taylor (DE) - 22nd ranked player in nation for 2018, currently committed to Michigan)
Danny Davis according to 247 Composite Rankings: 31st Best WR - 229 Ranked in nation
If they can land Davis along with Dotson, it will be the best pull of talent in one class from Ohio in over 2 decades. I'm not sure who else came with KiJana, but he was a freak by himself. Three 4 star kids out of Ohio and Miranda...sign me up any day for that regardless of those all consumed by the OSU offers.
I have some elongated thoughts on this.
Watching Danny's tape he would be a huge get. Really electric with the ball in his hands, whether it's on a hand off, punt return, or down the field at WR; also has power when needed. Uses his hands to catch the football and high points when necessary. Sloppy route running, but does create separation with his speed and vision. Reminds me of Chris Godwin with better speed and a little worse route running. Looks like a guy who can come in and when he catches up to the speed of the game will contribute early. Getting him and Webb would be huge. My knock on Webb, and to be clear of the two I think Webb has more potential of the two, is the same as my knock on Blacknall coming out and that is every catch in his video, short, long, over middle, every catch is in at the body. Now I did see some camp video of him using his hands so maybe that will change in his sr season. Either way he is great with the ball in his hands also and makes plays. Look at Saeed, reports out of the spring are that he is set to become a conference or nationally known player.
Long term getting both would seal C.J. Holmes fate as a defensive recruit, which may mean we don't get him. But looking ahead to 2018 there were 3 4-star WR prospects in Pa, Shaquon Anderson-Butts, Darryle Simmons, and the highest ranked Jahan Dotson, who has since transferred to NJ. I think Dotson will be going out of state, but the other two we look very well positioned to get. Anyway you slice it getting Davis and Webb plus 2 of those three and we would be set for the next 6 years with an absolutely loaded stockpile of talented pass catchers.
BTW what did the James gang do differently this weekend? You had two 4 star recruits from OH of all places walk away with us as the leader when they came in and we were 3rd or worse.
Holmes got his ND offer so we'll have to see how interested he stays with PSU. Webb may also follow Swift down south so I'd be thrilled if they can land Davis and Hamler to be honest. I'm not really too concerned with 2018, but they need to pull in 2-3 quality WR's in this class. Hopefully Holmes stays interested, but apparently he was waiting on that ND offer.
Maybe it is you that is having a hard time seeing things. By every measure, those schools are ahead of PSU in nearly every objective and subjective evaluation. Better facilities, better weather, fan support (we may be "even" in this category), and if you have ever walked around those campuses on a nice spring day, you'll see much nicer "scenery" (if you catch my drift) which is probably very appealing to a young man.
Most importantly, those three teams are well ahead of PSU on the "winning games" criteria. Clemson and FSU will likely both be annual contenders for the CFP for the foreseeable future based upon their talent and the league they play in. Georgia is in a pretty good position too, considering they are in the "non-Alabama" division of the SEC.
Realistically, PSU has a long way to go before we can even think about winning our division, much less getting ourselves in position to be a annual contender for the CFP. Meyer/Harbaugh/Dantonio are formidable hurdles for Franklin to overcome.
I couldn't blame a kid for choosing one of those schools over PSU.
Really?
Academics? Graduation rates? Campus? Location for visits from family living in PA, NJ, MD?
Granted that 'Bama has separated itself as the major power in college FB, but I don't see Clemson and FSU as being ahead of PSU "by every measure".
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Yes, well, those schools aren't coming off devastating sanctions that most of the college football world thought would bury us for the next decade+.
We're getting there. Rome wasn't built in a day. He's one recruit.
It amuses me how people want to make sweeping, apocalyptic pronouncements when a recruit favors another school over us, but the ones who pick us over those supposed superior schools have no meaning. Look up this thread at the pic of Matos, who has an Alabama offer as well. Doesn't care.
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Crystal Ball by Jeremy Birmingham (Ohio State insider) put in for Matt Dotson to Michigan State
Well....Definitely think this one will come down to Penn State and Michigan State and I give us the advantage at the moment
Well....Definitely think this one will come down to Penn State and Michigan State and I give us the advantage at the moment
The sanctions were indeed devastating but that's behind us. Franklin is the 8th highest paid coach in the country and the highest paid public employee in Pennsylvania. It's his job to rebuild the program by bringing in top talent. He's the one that coined the phrase "dominate the state". Nobody expected him to be able to do that overnight but they do expect consistent improvement.
I completely agree that we shouldn't get too excited abut any one recruit. The concern that some are having is that Franklin's early recruiting momentum seems to be slipping. We lost a few high rated recruits late last year and our team ranking slipped to 24th. We got the top 2 in PA but none of the remaining top 10. Michigan dominated NJ. It's early for 2017 but PSU is currently ranked 22nd by Rivals and we're not exactly dominating the state at this point. We're not doing well in NJ either.
Things aren't horrible. PSU has been one of the top 4 in B1G recruiting the past few years. Just not quite as high as we hoped and the momentum could be better. Let's see how Franklin does on the field this fall and how he finishes the 2017 class. 9 wins and a 15th ranked class would be a step in the right direction. 7-8 wins and another 24th rated class wouldn't sit well with most fans.
You say it's behind us, but the simple fact is recruiting 4 years ago took a hit because of the sanctions. That has impacted the program on the field which does impact recruiting today. Just think how many games PSU wins in the last 2 years with a good K and Punter. Maybe 2 more each year. We weren't playing for BT titles the last 4 years. Not even close. While OB and Franklin did a decent job of keeping it together it doesn't mean the sanctions were just a joke and now all is perfect. That is not the case. Just look at what Franklin is doing in Ohio as compared to the last 2 decades. There is a shot PSU may land 3 four star kids from Ohio and another 3 star OL. Possibly more than that as well. Some years some states are better to PSU than others, but when you only point out the off years in certain states...it's a bit one sided.
I'm not sure who the we you are speaking for, but most of the sensible PSU fans understand that PSU was trashed. Recruiting did take a big hit 3-4 years ago. Meyer stole 5-6 recruits the year the scandal broke. The next class introduced the sanctions and 4-5 others that committed left like Fuller, Webb, Douglas....etc. Those were 10 or so players in just 2 years that 4 years ago could heave really helped the last 2 years. He came to PSU with 9 OL on ship and only one was a top 100 recruit in Mahon. You're memory and timeline seem to pretty selective. You would think MSU would be killing PSU in recruiting with what they did the last few years, but that isn't the case.
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Gotta COMPLETELY disagree with you in vrtually every aspect of this.
Thanks for having the patience to write all that out. Our current upperclassmen are the players who constituted the #45 and #55 ranked classes per Rivals during the depth of the sanctions. All of the talent is in the underclassmen. We graduate just a few starters after this year. Clear skies are ahead.
PSU is paying Franklin handsomely to convince recruits that they will be able to compete for a B1G title in the next few years. He got off to a great start by signing the 25th ranked class in 2014 (before the sanctions were lifted). He did great again by signing the 15th ranked class in 2015. Good momentum! The 2016 class started out even better but we lost several players late and missed out at some positions of need before finishing 24th. This year is off to a slow start currently ranked 22nd. The concern isn't that we only have 8 verbals. It's that a lot of top prospects have committed or are leaning elsewhere. The ship isn't sinking but the momentum seems to have gotten away from us. Time will tell.
I would be absolutely shocked if he didn't commit to Michigan State.
Pretty sure his last and only visit to Happy Valley was with his older brother (Mike - 2016 DT) when he visited Penn State before committing to the Spartans.
Could you take your incessant whining to another thread, and keep this one about recruits?
I don't really think he is whining, his thoughts are germane to recruiting no? I don't agree with all of his points, but it's fair to suggest recruiting has fallen off a bit since early last year. Maybe it's the sanctions, maybe the terrible offensive production, maybe it's losing our D-coordinator, but it's fair to say it's fallen off. How many board members have said that we need to play better to get better recruits.
Week in Review published early this week
Check it out below!
https://happyvalleyrecruiting.wordpress.com/about/
Check it out below!
https://happyvalleyrecruiting.wordpress.com/about/
PSU is paying our coach a fair market value for the many duties and responsibilities that go with the position. I have absolutely no doubt that our coach works as hard as any coach in the country and is a well spoken representative of our University. I get really sick of the whinners who act like CJF is over paid and that top recruiting classes are predicated by the amount of a coaches salary
