2027 Recruiting Thread

[rigi19041]

This is certainly a coach to be proud of...

James Franklin holds a career record of 4-21 against Associated Press Top-10 opponents. Two of those four signature victories came during the 2016 season against No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Wisconsin. [1, 2, 3]
A complete breakdown of his top-10 matchups highlights these performance trends:

• The Record: 4-21 overall.
• vs. Ohio State & Michigan: 1-14 against these two Big Ten rivals when they are ranked in the top 10.
• • At Beaver Stadium: 1-8 at home against top-10 opponents

4 wins? Yesterday you had it at one.

 

[Marshall2323]

Why do you insist on referring to the former coach as CJF. This accords him a degree of respect that he does not deserve. He is BGJ, a moniker that expresses the disdain and lack of respect that he fully earned.

You haven't been paying attention to the fan base perspective. There has been a negative element existent with regard to BGJ since the day he arrived at PSU. It grew over time for a variety of reasons. For me personally, I grew tired of his schtick of there was never enough and he always needed more. There may have been some truth to it, but don't take it public and lobby the fan base. It did not bother me initially but over time it gave credence to the early detractors who labeled him a carnival barker.

With regard to recruiting, yes, I would like the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with recruiting high four stars and five stars. Does recruiting these players make a difference? Absolutely, in the case of tOSU who recruits 3 to 5 five stars every year, it shows up in the draft when they have 2 or more first round picks almost every year in addition to another 6 to 10 who get drafted, plus there is the 2024 national championship.

To get to that level will require performance on the field better than the recruiting rankings. We are in a new age of college football where recruiting is not necessarily the lifeblood of a program. It is one piece of what has turned into a game of talent accumulation and retention. NIL is the new variable and quite frankly, how it changes that game long term is anybody's guess. When I see over the last 3 years where roster expenditures for the top programs have gone from 20 million to 30 million to now the number being thrown out is 50 million, one has to question whether this is sustainable. Perhaps it is, perhaps it is not. A little patience on the front end may prove to be a better strategy long term. Then again, maybe it will not. I do think that PSU has more monetary resources than what it has shown so far. They have just taken a different path then most with regard to deployment.

On the subject of recruiting, there does appear to be a difference between the type of players being recruited by CMC in comparison to BGJ. This was noted by TFrank in a recent podcast. BGJ seemed to prioritize measurables while CMC is looking at more at the instinctual characteristics. Even though the results are similar (I would also stipulate that BGJ was producing classes that were rated high than CMC's current iteration), CMC does appear to have a different priority set in the evaluation process.

Lastly does CMC have a demonstrable ability to evaluate players that will outperform their ratings? If we look at his last class at ISU (2025), his class ranked number 58 (according to On3 / Rivals) in the country. This was near the bottom of P4 teams. This was historically similar to his other ISU recruiting classes. He clearly has a track record of outperforming what the recruiting rankings project

When people note (complain) about the number of 3 stars, I would hypothesize that not all 3 stars are the same. The 2025 ISU recruiting class had 21 commits. Twenty of them received national rankings by Rivals / On3 with one unranked recruit. Focusing on the national ranking of the 20 ranked recruits, the average national ranking was 1,151. The current average national ranking for the current 20 PSU recruits is 482. The ranking of every current PSU recruit is better than the average ranking of ISUs 2025 class. This would indicate that he is attracting a substantially better recruit at PSU than he was at ISU. Will this result in the success desired by PSU and their fan base? That remains to be seen. At least we won't have to listen to whinny BGJ anymore.

In reference to recruiting, a great philosopher (Satchel Paige) Paige once said, "don't look over your shoulder, cause someone might me gaining on you." If you think PSU is killing it in recruiting.....you gotta love what CJF is doing at VT.

 

[EricStratton-RushChairman]

4 wins? Yesterday you had it at one.

ok, you win

 

[Mongrel]

In reference to recruiting, a great philosopher (Satchel Paige) Paige once said, "don't look over your shoulder, cause someone might me gaining on you." If you think PSU is killing it in recruiting.....you gotta love what CJF is doing at VT.

You mean BGJ?

 

[PSUForever]

This is certainly a coach to be proud of...

James Franklin holds a career record of 4-21 against Associated Press Top-10 opponents. Two of those four signature victories came during the 2016 season against No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Wisconsin. [1, 2, 3]
A complete breakdown of his top-10 matchups highlights these performance trends:

• The Record: 4-21 overall.
• vs. Ohio State & Michigan: 1-14 against these two Big Ten rivals when they are ranked in the top 10.
• • At Beaver Stadium: 1-8 at home against top-10 opponents

The last big game he won was the B10 championship vs Wisconsin at the end of the 2016 season. I don't count beating UDub in an irrelevant Fiesta Bowl or Utah in a irrelevant Rose Bowl. Certainly not beating SMU and Boise St. When he beat USC on the road in '24 that was good but USC was not great and he needed 17 catches from Warren to bail him out.

Since that Wisconin game he got a huge contract extension then he wanted another last year yet he had not won a big game in almost a decade. Talk about getting over paid and underperforming, he is the poster child for that.

I am so glad he is gone. He was a disappointing loss waiting to happen with every big game we played.

 

[LMTLION]

Georgia is trying their best to flip Jamir Dean today on an official visit. He visits PSU next weekend. Dean is a former “3 star” and now 4 star (he may end up a high 4 star) and ever since we landed his verbal other schools realize they overlooked him. The Georgia folks think they have an excellent shot at flipping him. I think he is better than the PA WRs Taylor and gregory. Hopefully Campbell can (re) lock him down next week.

 

[Corner Room Breakfast]

I took some advice and ignored about a half dozen posters who are comparable to The View.

They are just here to agitate, and apologize for Jimmy, and if he was still coaching here they
would be the first to want him fired.

No excitement for CMC, the transfers, recruiting class, or the team in general. Wasting thousands
of words, spewing nonsense, and lacking support for Penn State football.

 

[LionsAndBears]

In reference to recruiting, a great philosopher (Satchel Paige) Paige once said, "don't look over your shoulder, cause someone might me gaining on you." If you think PSU is killing it in recruiting.....you gotta love what CJF is doing at VT.

I for one can't wait to see what that 6' 0.5" Edge is gonna do in Blacksburg!

 

[Marshall2323]

I for one can't wait to see what that 6' 0.5" Edge is gonna do in Blacksburg!

I only know what I read from the sage football minds here. I was told that VT was a massive step down for CJF. I was informed here of the resources and magnitude of PSU football. Yet, I see VT has a higher per commit rating than PSU. They are climbing dangerously close to matching or passing PSU in the Rivals and 24/7 team rankings. How is this possible? I want to believe the experts here that PSU is doing wonderful.
I too can't wait to see the long term trajectory of both programs. As a long time PSU football fan, I welcome "excellence at the highest level." As for Franklin......WE ARE "free at last, free at last, thank God almight we're free at last!" We were gifted the second weakest schedule in the conference with a likely 3 or 4 loss Michigan, USC and Washington as our toughest games. Then 9 additional teams "without a pulse." There aren't any excuses.
I look forward to returning to "the standard." I hear the standard is the standard!
PSU all time win % .690 CJF at PSU .698. Winning all the games needed to create a "big game" and then actually winning the "big game" will be paradise.

 

[Marshall2323]

I took some advice and ignored about a half dozen posters who are comparable to The View.

They are just here to agitate, and apologize for Jimmy, and if he was still coaching here they
would be the first to want him fired.

No excitement for CMC, the transfers, recruiting class, or the team in general. Wasting thousands
of words, spewing nonsense, and lacking support for Penn State football.

Fact is there isn't much to be excited about to date. The cream puff schedule will create a sense of well being. But after 2026, I see no indication of why we should assume PSU will overtake Ohio State or Oregon.....and what Indiana and USC will be long term is up for debate. In terms of excitement, why would there be more buzz around PSU than Michigan? They too are recovering from turmoil, and KW is every bit the accomplished coach that Coach Campbell has been.
I should be excited for two dozen players who played at ISU?
I should be excited for a recruiting class that is currently rated #7 in conference according to Rivals?
Until PSU finds the finances to compete with the top 10 spenders, the overall results will mirror the past.

 

[Marshall2323]

You mean BGJ?

Sticks and stones are the norm in elementary school and among the BWICAC sycophants.
One guy will average 9 million total compensations for the next 5 or so years and others will engage in name calling on a message board.

 

[Marshall2323]

The last big game he won was the B10 championship vs Wisconsin at the end of the 2016 season. I don't count beating UDub in an irrelevant Fiesta Bowl or Utah in a irrelevant Rose Bowl. Certainly not beating SMU and Boise St. When he beat USC on the road in '24 that was good but USC was not great and he needed 17 catches from Warren to bail him out.

Since that Wisconin game he got a huge contract extension then he wanted another last year yet he had not won a big game in almost a decade. Talk about getting over paid and underperforming, he is the poster child for that.

I am so glad he is gone. He was a disappointing loss waiting to happen with every big game we played.

You have a rather strict standard for identifying "big games." If that is your opinion, you are certainly entitled to it.
However, it does put the new coach in a bit of a bind. If winning a Rose, Fiesta, Cotton Bowl and playoff games are not "big wins," then by definition PSU doesn't have a potential for a "big" win on the 2026 schedule. Neither Washington or USC have proven to be top echelon Big Ten programs and Michigan has been quite pedestrian since the Harbaugh/Stalions era. To win a big game, the new coaching staff (by your definition) must reach the playoffs and beat two teams in the 2026 standings higher than Boise and SMU (were in 2024). I agree.
As for contract extension, I agree, can you imagine any coach, who didn't win the NC or at least his conference, getting an extension. Disgusting!

Penn State search helps coaches secure $370 million in contract extensions

 

[Marshall2323]

I for one can't wait to see what that 6' 0.5" Edge is gonna do in Blacksburg!

The same could be said for two dozen stars from ISU coming to "Happy Valley."

 

[Alphalion75]

Georgia is trying their best to flip Jamir Dean today on an official visit. He visits PSU next weekend. Dean is a former “3 star” and now 4 star (he may end up a high 4 star) and ever since we landed his verbal other schools realize they overlooked him. The Georgia folks think they have an excellent shot at flipping him. I think he is better than the PA WRs Taylor and gregory. Hopefully Campbell can (re) lock him down next week.

I'm a bit nervous about Dean's visit. It seems we've lost quite a few recruiting battles with Georgia. But I guess you can't blame kids wanting to jump on board such a successful program like the Dawgs.

 

[LMTLION]

I'm a bit nervous about Dean's visit. It seems we've lost quite a few recruiting battles with Georgia. But I guess you can't blame kids wanting to jump on board such a successful program like the Dawgs.

They, like other schools, just seem to follow Campbell, who has a reputation for finding under the radar players like Dean.. It is so annoying. This is why Campbell kept Reeder under wraps last year. He went from unrated to 4 star.

 

[PSU89er]

The last big game he won was the B10 championship vs Wisconsin at the end of the 2016 season. I don't count beating UDub in an irrelevant Fiesta Bowl or Utah in a irrelevant Rose Bowl. Certainly not beating SMU and Boise St. When he beat USC on the road in '24 that was good but USC was not great and he needed 17 catches from Warren to bail him out.

Since that Wisconin game he got a huge contract extension then he wanted another last year yet he had not won a big game in almost a decade. Talk about getting over paid and underperforming, he is the poster child for that.

I am so glad he is gone. He was a disappointing loss waiting to happen with every big game we played.

I too have a high standard of what a big game is and its hard to tell how good Franklin would be in those games, because he never played in one.

Just to be clear. Paterno was 2-1 in big games.