Ouch. Penn State 2027 Recruiting Decline?

[demoncore1031]

You have a new coach and basically a completely new staff, it's going to take a year or two for them to get out and meet the coaches and players from their region. Don't think for a moment that once Franklin was fired, the other name schools figured that it improved their chances in Penn. and the region to get kids that might have gone to PSU if the coaching change had not occurred. ISU is going to be going through the same thing, which will kill us in the instate recruiting for the next year or two.
If Campbell wins, the recruits will be there, if he doesn't they won't, the same for Rogers.

I have never been too worried about ISU getting in-state kids. We can get players just as good or better in other states. If we can land a couple of the top 10 in-staters every year, that's good enough for me. The new staff seems to recruit heavily from Texas.

 

[demoncore1031]

You have a new coach and basically a completely new staff, it's going to take a year or two for them to get out and meet the coaches and players from their region. Don't think for a moment that once Franklin was fired, the other name schools figured that it improved their chances in Penn. and the region to get kids that might have gone to PSU if the coaching change had not occurred. ISU is going to be going through the same thing, which will kill us in the instate recruiting for the next year or two.
If Campbell wins, the recruits will be there, if he doesn't they won't, the same for Rogers.

This. Campbell already has 3 commits for the 2028 class and 2 of them are from Pennsylvania. I expect him to continue using his Midwest ties that he made in Ames to recruit the areas, like St Louis, where he has already built relationships. He has offers out to quite a few players that he offered at ISU, including a few of the top Iowa recruits.

 

[Marcelason78]

Every ad says championships are the goal and expectation. It’s the job to build hype and set the tone. It’s classic AD/Coach speak. You lay it out yourself, it’s not realistic as it’s been 59 years. That’s why that expectation isn’t there.

Didn’t hear NC talk by JP at CJR’s intro. Conference championship expectations are different than NC but the idiot AD at PedSt is expecting a Natty. He said as much.

 

[demoncore1031]

Didn’t hear NC talk by JP at CJR’s intro. Conference championship expectations are different than NC but the idiot AD at PedSt is expecting a Natty. He said as much.

I love Campbell, but I'm not sure if he can win a natty. I guess if it's gonna happen then PSU is the place to do it. He has the resources but I'm not sure about the x's and o's. I just think it's funny how the media thinks the big ten is such an elite conference.

 

[bozclone]

Looking at the PS two deep, MC didn’t keep very many proven PS players. There are a few that started last year, but most are unproven underclassmen. Unless Sowell makes a big jump, WR looks like a real weakness. MC didn’t appear to have great luck in the portal outside the ISU guys and a couple DTs. His team looks built to have a lot of close games. We will see if has been able to build a good culture quickly. Honestly, I was disappointed in the talent on his projected two deep.

 

[JP4CY]

Looking at the PS two deep, MC didn’t keep very many proven PS players. There are a few that started last year, but most are unproven underclassmen. Unless Sowell makes a big jump, WR looks like a real weakness. MC didn’t appear to have great luck in the portal outside the ISU guys and a couple DTs. His team looks built to have a lot of close games. We will see if has been able to build a good culture quickly. Honestly, I was disappointed in the talent on his projected two deep.

I think PSU and ISU were in similar situations. A lot of PSU's guys followed Franklin and a lot of ISU's guys followed Campbell.

 

[Frak]

This is the right take. A lot of people want CMC to fail which I totally get but lose track that PSU isn’t nearly as reactionary as people want to believe. If he has a bad loss against a weak opponent but gets a win over a highly ranked on the road that’s gonna be forgiven real quick.

Franklin was at PSU for a decade and accomplished very little. He won the games he was supposed to win and lost just about every game against equal or better opponents.

The main think Franklin could bring that CMC might struggle with is going to be the recruiting. With the classes Franklin was brining in you could always sell hope for the following season after another disappointing one. If CMC doesn’t bring in top 15 recruiting classes following this season he is going to be sitting on an inferno without some major results

Personally, I'd be shocked if Campbell ever pulls in a top 15 recruiting class. That's just not how he works. He relies on evaluation and going head to head with the SEC or tOSU on a regular basis isn't really his style.

 

[drmwevr08]

Personally, I'd be shocked if Campbell ever pulls in a top 15 recruiting class. That's just not how he works. He relies on evaluation and going head to head with the SEC or tOSU on a regular basis isn't really his style.

I doubt he maintains the exact same profile of guys he's recruiting now that he has more money and a higher profile school .

 

[clonedude]

Looking at the PS two deep, MC didn’t keep very many proven PS players. There are a few that started last year, but most are unproven underclassmen. Unless Sowell makes a big jump, WR looks like a real weakness. MC didn’t appear to have great luck in the portal outside the ISU guys and a couple DTs. His team looks built to have a lot of close games. We will see if has been able to build a good culture quickly. Honestly, I was disappointed in the talent on his projected two deep.

If they are counting on Sowell for much at WR…. yikes!

 

[4cy16]

As long as Matt continues to win inside the margins he should be ok.

 

[bozclone]

If they are counting on Sowell for much at WR…. yikes!

The two sites I checked had a similar takes on the starters and backups. First column is starters and second column backups. Matt may be playing multiple TEs again.

 

[Frak]

I doubt he maintains the exact same profile of guys he's recruiting now that he has more money and a higher profile school .

No, it will be a higher profile. But, there's still going to be the undervalued 3 star like Sadiq or Thomas that they evaluate correctly. Obviously, those are good players, but it will drag down their ranking vs the blue bloods.

 

[FarmerCy1]

As long as Matt continues to win inside the margins he should be ok.

He also never said winning the B1G or the CFP was the goal. They just want to be the best version of themselves.

Can't wait to see the meltdown in Happy Valley when he trots that line out.

 

[trajanJ]

He also never said winning the B1G or the CFP was the goal. They just want to be the best version of themselves.

Can't wait to see the meltdown in Happy Valley when he trots that line out.

Will be interesting to see how fans react to comments like that. Penn State seems to think they are an elite football program but they really don't have the titles to back that up. Since The Big 10 started having a championship game in 2011 Penn State has won it only once. Basically once every 15 years.

 

[SolarGarlic]

Campbell like any new coach is going to get some leeway in his first year, how well he does against Michigan, USC and Washington will determine if his first year is a success or not. If they are sitting their 11-1 with the only loss to say Wisconsin and making the conference championship game, people will be fine.

Yes, 11-1 would be a success. But you're really overestimating the "big game" factor with Franklin and Campbell. Franklin was great at winning games in which PSU was favored, but struggled to beat OSU and Michigan. And that became the narrative. But he would've also been run out of town if his record was the same and those losses came to Michigan State and Maryland. The narrative just would've changed to Franklin loses blows magical seasons by losing to inferior teams. The result would be the same.

If Campbell is able to beat Michigan this season, but goes 9-3 or 10-2 without a Big 10 championship game appearance, there will be major concern in Happy Valley. Too many losses won't be accepted no matter what team they come from.

 

[SolarGarlic]

This is the right take. A lot of people want CMC to fail which I totally get but lose track that PSU isn’t nearly as reactionary as people want to believe. If he has a bad loss against a weak opponent but gets a win over a highly ranked on the road that’s gonna be forgiven real quick.

Franklin was at PSU for a decade and accomplished very little. He won the games he was supposed to win and lost just about every game against equal or better opponents.

The main think Franklin could bring that CMC might struggle with is going to be the recruiting. With the classes Franklin was brining in you could always sell hope for the following season after another disappointing one. If CMC doesn’t bring in top 15 recruiting classes following this season he is going to be sitting on an inferno without some major results

James Franklin won 11 games or more 5 times. He won 5 major bowl games, including a Rose Bowl. And yes, he had elite recruiting. Penn State has been a mainstay in the top 15. They've had huge expectations. Penn State admin and fans didn't get rid of him so they could hire the next guy to do the same thing or worse.

 

[Lineup]

short time at PS bye Matt

 

[AlaCyclone]

James Franklin won 11 games or more 5 times. He won 5 major bowl games, including a Rose Bowl. And yes, he had elite recruiting. Penn State has been a mainstay in the top 15. They've had huge expectations. Penn State admin and fans didn't get rid of him so they could hire the next guy to do the same thing or worse.

IMO, the new HC at PSU will never match those accomplishments.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

James Franklin won 11 games or more 5 times. He won 5 major bowl games, including a Rose Bowl. And yes, he had elite recruiting. Penn State has been a mainstay in the top 15. They've had huge expectations. Penn State admin and fans didn't get rid of him so they could hire the next guy to do the same thing or worse.

Yep as many have pointed out he wins a bunch of games he is suppose to win and loses just about every game they are equal or are an underdog for.

I’m assuming you’re counting those playoff wins as bowl games? I’ll play along and sure he has 5 wins in “big” games. That rose bowl came after finishing 3rd in the conference due to the playoffs first of all. Second those 5 wins in “big” games are against Memphis, Bosie State, SMU, Utah, and Washington. Outside of Washington PSU should be able to just line up and beat those teams.

That’s the whole point. He racked up wins against lesser competition and did a great job never really dropping those games. He had really good recurring as well. And yet in his entire tenure he only won one conference championship and they still kept him around for a decade.

No one fires their coach thinking the next guy will do worse or else they wouldn’t fire the first one. Only reason he got fired is he dropped those games to UCLA and NW and that means he can deliver anything to the program anymore.

He had a very long leash and the university and fans were pretty accommodating because he could constantly sell hope with the recruiting classes. If CMC doesn’t get those class rankings up fast he’s gonna be gone fast

 

[1SEIACLONE]

Yes, 11-1 would be a success. But you're really overestimating the "big game" factor with Franklin and Campbell. Franklin was great at winning games in which PSU was favored, but struggled to beat OSU and Michigan. And that became the narrative. But he would've also been run out of town if his record was the same and those losses came to Michigan State and Maryland. The narrative just would've changed to Franklin loses blows magical seasons by losing to inferior teams. The result would be the same.

If Campbell is able to beat Michigan this season, but goes 9-3 or 10-2 without a Big 10 championship game appearance, there will be major concern in Happy Valley. Too many losses won't be accepted no matter what team they come from.

Franklin was 4-21 against rated teams in the top 10, that was his undoing. At a school like PSU they expect you to win those top ten games at least as much as you lose to them.