Zach Franks decommits from Penn State; what now for the Lions in the Class of 2019?
Posted August 10, 2018 at 05:30 PM | Updated August 10, 2018 at 05:27 PM
BY GREG PICKEL | gpickel@pennlive.com
Penn State football practice facility, Holuba Hall on June 30, 2018. Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com
Baltimore, Md., offensive lineman Zachary Franks has decommitted from Penn State and flipped to Northwestern.
The three-star tackle from The Gilman School was committed to the Lions for just over a week, as he made his pledge on Aug. 2 before dropping it and becoming a member of the Wildcats Class of 2019 on Aug. XX. The move puts PSU back to 15 verbal commitments, leaving it room for about five to seven additions.
It’s the first speed bump for head coach James Franklin and his staff on the recruiting trail in this cycle, and it temporarily stymies what has been a productive offseason of adding top targets at a variety of positions.
"I'm really proud of how the staff has recruited this year, because it's been a really challenging year," Franklin said in late July. "We've offered maybe three or four players [in Pennsylvania]; we usually offer somewhere between 10 and 12.
"We knew coming into this year that it could be a challenging year, so to be still be recruiting at a high level and being able to do it in a different way then we normally would do; typically, we like to make sure the base of our class is from our state and then be able to compliment that nationally and be able to compliment that in our foot print, this year we were going to have to do it differently, so that creates different challenges."
So what now?
Franks decommit poses a different kind of challenge for the program, as it is lighter on tackles than it expected to be after Nana Asiedu had to medically retire due to a heart condition.
Based on the current roster breakdown, Penn State will lose at least Chasz Wright from this year's team, and Ryan Bates will be in position to make a go pro or stay in school decision. Potentially minus those three and also Asiedu, it makes the push for at least one more tackle in this class a must.
The program’s top targets along the line now, and specifically at tackle, include longtime three-star Jakai Moore, a tackle from Virginia, Trevor Keegan, a four-star from Illinois, and Walter Rouse, a four-star from Washington, D.C.
The Lions have seemed likely to land Moore’s commitment for months now, but he hasn’t pulled the trigger, which leaves one to wonder whether he’s looking for a better option. Keegan is more likely than not to pick another Big Ten program, while Rouse has his eye on Stanford and a few others and will not be an easy pull.
As for its current offensive line crop, the Lions have commitments from four-star guards Saleem Wormely and Caedan Wallace along with four-star tackle Anthony Whigan.
Penn State continues summer camp this weekend as it marches on toward the opener, which is opposite Appalachian State on Sept. 1 inside of Beaver Stadium.
Posted August 10, 2018 at 05:30 PM | Updated August 10, 2018 at 05:27 PM
BY GREG PICKEL | gpickel@pennlive.com
Penn State football practice facility, Holuba Hall on June 30, 2018. Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com
Baltimore, Md., offensive lineman Zachary Franks has decommitted from Penn State and flipped to Northwestern.
The three-star tackle from The Gilman School was committed to the Lions for just over a week, as he made his pledge on Aug. 2 before dropping it and becoming a member of the Wildcats Class of 2019 on Aug. XX. The move puts PSU back to 15 verbal commitments, leaving it room for about five to seven additions.
It’s the first speed bump for head coach James Franklin and his staff on the recruiting trail in this cycle, and it temporarily stymies what has been a productive offseason of adding top targets at a variety of positions.
"I'm really proud of how the staff has recruited this year, because it's been a really challenging year," Franklin said in late July. "We've offered maybe three or four players [in Pennsylvania]; we usually offer somewhere between 10 and 12.
"We knew coming into this year that it could be a challenging year, so to be still be recruiting at a high level and being able to do it in a different way then we normally would do; typically, we like to make sure the base of our class is from our state and then be able to compliment that nationally and be able to compliment that in our foot print, this year we were going to have to do it differently, so that creates different challenges."
So what now?
Franks decommit poses a different kind of challenge for the program, as it is lighter on tackles than it expected to be after Nana Asiedu had to medically retire due to a heart condition.
Based on the current roster breakdown, Penn State will lose at least Chasz Wright from this year's team, and Ryan Bates will be in position to make a go pro or stay in school decision. Potentially minus those three and also Asiedu, it makes the push for at least one more tackle in this class a must.
The program’s top targets along the line now, and specifically at tackle, include longtime three-star Jakai Moore, a tackle from Virginia, Trevor Keegan, a four-star from Illinois, and Walter Rouse, a four-star from Washington, D.C.
The Lions have seemed likely to land Moore’s commitment for months now, but he hasn’t pulled the trigger, which leaves one to wonder whether he’s looking for a better option. Keegan is more likely than not to pick another Big Ten program, while Rouse has his eye on Stanford and a few others and will not be an easy pull.
As for its current offensive line crop, the Lions have commitments from four-star guards Saleem Wormely and Caedan Wallace along with four-star tackle Anthony Whigan.
Penn State continues summer camp this weekend as it marches on toward the opener, which is opposite Appalachian State on Sept. 1 inside of Beaver Stadium.
