I don’t think most posters have bashed Olesh. Most have simply pointed out that Franklin made a major mistake by investing valuable NIL in the TE position at that time. Penn State had 3-4 very talented and young TEs on the depth chart already. It was a “dumb money” investment for the TE position. Olesh just happened to be the TE Franklin selected to allocate NIL funds. It didn’t help matters that Olesh wasn’t able to play in a single game while 4 of his freshmen peers all made significant contributions as freshmen.
2027 Recruiting Thread
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I don’t think most posters have bashed Olesh. Most have simply pointed out that Franklin made a major mistake by investing valuable NIL in the TE position at that time. Penn State had 3-4 very talented and young TEs on the depth chart already. It was a “dumb money” investment for the TE position. Olesh just happened to be the TE Franklin selected to allocate NIL funds. It didn’t help matters that Olesh wasn’t able to play in a single game while 4 of his freshmen peers all made significant contributions as freshmen.
This was not a whiff at all. Ryan Snyder predicted (long before the commitment by Rhoa) that Rhoa would not land at Penn State. The Penn State staff simply did not value Rhoa anywhere near what other schools were offering Rhoa. In addition, Penn State is very happy with their current OL commitments.
The fact that Rhoa is a legacy is irrelevant. Players are recruited for their talent and skill set, not their relationship to former Penn Staters.
My primary concern for 2026 is depth. Football is a game of attrition. Most programs would suffer a drop off if the starting QB sustains an injury that would put them on the shelf for a significant amount of time. PSU seems particularly vulnerable.
Second would be the apparent lack of "big play" talent.
If injuries are manageable, this roster can challenge double digit wins. Using the BWICACs own language, there are only 3 teams with a pulse on the schedule.
That's nice that you feel that way. But college players ARE taking money and unless PSU wishes to try and sell 107k seats to watch Patriot League contests or join the PSAC and play Bloomsburg and Kutztown, they need to start to attract the future super stars of college football.
"Walking away" from talent is easy in June. The lumps for such a decision will be painful September thru December each and every year.
The PSU football program Joe created for us is dead. Joe is dead and gone. Doing more with less, is not the answer anymore. I long for those days, when values were attached to college football. They are dead and gone as well. This is minor league professional football. Being 20-22 in NIL and on a budget, will over the long run, get you a budget preforming football program.
We Are.....not gonna pay?
This behavior of parents isn't new. Just new to college sports. I had a first round draft pick in MLB (when I was an AD) and was asked by an area scout on draft day if the young man would sign for X if they took him in round 1 (no slot money then).
I had the young man call his parents and they agreed.
That afternoon, we had a small press gathering to celebrate the occasion and the father took the podium to announce his "demands" for signing. The athlete was the second leading all time rusher in NYS history and had accepted a scholarship to Maryland. The father's actions cost the area scout his job and laid the foundation for bad blood in the organization for his son from which he never recovered.
“Maybe we have someone in mind as a backup to Taylor. I dunno.”
“the seemingly lack of a contingency plan is poor planning.”
I looked at 2020-2025 just for fun (class rank, 5*, 4*, 3*)
2020 14th, 1 5*, 10 4*, 16 3*
2021 19th, 0 5*, 10 48, 7 38
2022 7th, 3 5*, 12 48, 10 3*
2023 13th, 1 5*, 12 4*, 10 3*
2024 13th, 1 5*, 9 4*, 16 3*
2025 13th, 1 5*, 13 4*, 14 3*
We had at least one 5* every year except 2021 and a near even split between 4* and 3*
So far this year under Campbell
2027 13th, 0 5*, 7 4*, 14 3*
I think it's clear that this class is down compared to most of Franklin's classes because we have n 5* and twice as many 3* as 4*
Note: I left out the 2026 class because it was worse than most MAC teams. IIRC that class was lower than many of Franklin's other classes before the defections. That might be because NIL had taken hold.
We may not land a 5* but I'm confident that a number of those 3* will be 4* by signing day...possibly 5-8 of them.
Some here have indicated we are trying to flip Jamar Taylor from Rutgers.
If you take the rankings of the 20'thru 23' recruiting classes of only 4* and 5* recruits the miss rate is close to 75%. I have excluded the 24' & 25' classes as we don't have enough playing time to properly evaluate hits or misses. I do think that those classes have a good deal of talent and could prove very good. Now looking at the 23' & 24" seasons and how they played out in 23' we lost 2 games to OSU & Mich by less than 10 points and finished 10-2. 24' season we made the semifinals of the CFP and finished 13-3 and lost by less than a touchdown in each game. We had a chance to win all 5 losses and failed to do so but topic for another day.
My question is who was it that won these games? 3* recruits who were either properly evaluated or coached up to play at a level above their rankings. Taking the fact that we lost to any team with a pulse speaks more to the failure of the coaching staff and the poor game time decisions that were made. I am thankful for CJF and his time at PSU and will ever be grateful for his leadership during a trying time. He deserves an honored place in the history of PSU football so don't think of my statements as a beat down of CJF as he clearly made wise decisions on many a 3* recruit. I am merely pointing out that it was, in fact, a majority 3* recruits that had 2 of the more successful seasons under CJF.
To play devils advocate here, most fan bases probably echo the same sentiment about their current commit list. I don’t think this narrative is exclusive to Penn State. It will be interesting as time goes on closer to signing day, which commits will other schools attempt to poach and will Campbell be able to keep them in the fold.
Tyler Warren was a great example, an 88 rated 3 star. Franklin to your point did a decent job evaluating “lower rated” talent, as does Campbell. But regarding ratings, people should really read how the recruiting services do it. I cannot find rivals faq but here is how 247 does it. Essentially, it is both a college and nfl predictor. The way I read it is 87 starts the higher rated talent. They explicitly tell you that a 89 rated 3 star should not be viewed any differently than a 90 rated 4 star.
247Sports Rankings FAQ: What they mean, when they come out, what matters the most
What the 247Sports rankings mean, when they are released, what we think matters and who's involved on the process.
247sports.com
I agree about depth @ QB, very shaky. I would add DE if Glanville becomes iffy.
Maybe but when was the last time PSU got ZERO of the top 5 in PA, MD, or NJ?
College Football is no longer your father's Oldsmobile. Sadly, times have changed and not for the better.
Maybe, but I will tell you the sentiment that most teams fans are saying from the teams that have been really powerful and that is. Our recruiting is really down.
OSU % of 3 star recruits in the class
2021 9%
2022 5%
2023 5%
2024 14%
2025 19%
2026 38%
2027 31%
Based on this. IS our recruiting closer to OSU now or 5 years ago. We want to beat them we need to recruit closer to them. We've been saying it for years. Is that happening?
Do you guys know that Dean was a lower rated recruit in PSUs class than he is with UGa? He is their 4th highest rated recruit and a lot of that has to do with UGa's current class being made of about 2/3rd 3 stars. The mighty are falling back to the pack.
Here is the real problem. While OSU is coming back to us a notch or two, we have fallen half a notch to the lower half of the B10. Meaning its going to get more competitive with every other team in the conference on game day. Also this is HS recruiting and has nothing to do with the portal. Its only half the picture. IF it was just about HS recruiting, Indiana wouldn't even be in the discussion.
I dont know....but when was the last time we got kids from Oklahoma, Texas and California.
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Max Granville is from TX. Daryus Dixson is from CA. Franklin signed both in his last two recruiting classes at PSU. Can we stop acting like Campbell is reinventing the wheel here?
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You said a lot in this post. I think I agree with you for the most part, but I also may be misinterpreting your message with certain points. As for OSU, they aren’t coming back to PSU as fast as you may think. They have 17 current HS commits. Yes, 6 of them are 3 stars, but two of them are 5 stars and they have the #1 overall commit in the country on board, as well as a five star WR (as usual). Short story; they have a few playmakers in there. OSU has a loaded current roster, so they can afford to take a few more chances, but they are still recruiting at a high level and will be tough to overcome. I agree with you that PSU is probably sliding more towards the middle of the B1G in talent and that every game will be tougher. I said this before. I don’t think there’s a game on the schedule, at least in B1G play, that will be easy. They will all be dogfights. Good news is, that I think we will see a better coached team in terms of execution and fewer mental mistakes. However, as I keep saying, talent eventually wins out. PSU, may, however, be saving a lot to hit the portal hard in the 2026 offseason. That may be the game changer in talent level on this roster.
In addition to Khalil Taylor (and more recently Jamar Taylor), Tyler Calvaruso of 24/7 indicated that PSU may be looking to add a third TE, another safety, and perhaps hold onto 1-3 spots for late bloomers, potentially on the OL/DL. Apparently, Jamar Taylor balled out, and impressed the coaches at a PSU camp recently. This class is now projected to be looking at maxing out at 25-26 commits total. Personally, I would like to see another DE/Edge commit. Blattner is 260lbs as a HS Jr. I think there is high potential he moves inside on the DL at some point after some PSU seasoning in the weight room and dinner table.
......and let's stop acting like Campbell some schmuck who can't recruit.
Jamar Taylor is committed to Rutgers. You mean PSU is allowed take other programs' committed players? I thought they were only allowed to take our recruits?? Interesting!
No one is saying that. Everyone has the same aspirations for the program and that’s going to take more talent that Campbell has ever had. Hopefully, the WR recruiting situation was a wake up call for this staff. They are going to have to recruit at level they have never done before in both the portal and HS recruiting.
Also, you don’t have to be so defensive when your statement was proven inaccurate. We all
misspeak from time to time.
I'm not sure who we got from California. The CB from Texas is the 100th ranked recruit in the state. The LB from Oklahoma is the 9th ranked player in the state (the top 5 went to Texas, Oklahoma, and Oregon).
Here is the short story. OSUs recruiting was absolutely loaded in the past. The numbers you are showing are impressive only to people that dont know the past.
From 2021 to 2023. OSU brought in 67 recruits, 27 of which were top 100 kids. 49 of which were top 250 kids. Thats right 70% of the kids they were landing were in the top 250. They brought in 9 kids that were not 4/5 stars in those three classes (not including K/P/LS). In 2021, OSU brought in 6 of the top 11 recruits in the country according to 247.
Basically, the whole NIL thing is forcing OSU to be a lot more selective when looking at top kids, because even they cant afford to be buying double figure top 100 prospects anymore. Will they continue to be one of the best and outrecruit PSU. Without a doubt, but the gap with the way OSU has recruited the last two years has shrunk considerably from what it was 5 years ago.
BTW, OSU just landed this kid today. Do you even think he is sniffing OSU 5 years ago? He rates lower than every commit in PSUs class.
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More like 2 or 3 who point out the mistake every week.
Will they spend the next two years listing the mistakes in this class every week. A third of this class will never start.
Ps. If olesh lights it up this year will the same poster then cite Campbell's mistake of losing olesh?
Here is the short story. OSUs recruiting was absolutely loaded in the past. The numbers you are showing are impressive only to people that dont know the past.
From 2021 to 2023. OSU brought in 67 recruits, 27 of which were top 100 kids. 49 of which were top 250 kids. Thats right 70% of the kids they were landing were in the top 250. They brought in 9 kids that were not 4/5 stars in those three classes (not including K/P/LS). In 2021, OSU brought in 6 of the top 11 recruits in the country according to 247.
Basically, the whole NIL thing is forcing OSU to be a lot more selective when looking at top kids, because even they cant afford to be buying double figure top 100 prospects anymore. Will they continue to be one of the best and outrecruit PSU. Without a doubt, but the gap with the way OSU has recruited the last two years has shrunk considerably from what it was 5 years ago.
BTW, OSU just landed this kid today. Do you even think he is sniffing OSU 5 years ago? He rates lower than every commit in PSUs class.
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Ohio State will be just fine. Their roster is still stacked and their blue chip ratio is double PSU’s for the 2026 roster.
You're right....Franklin did get some kids outside of our region. However, my point was that although we aren't getting the top kids in our region, Campbell has some recruiting roots in other regions of the country. And fyi....I wasnt being defensive...just pointing out that Campbell has a plan and seems to know how to do his job.
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Whether or not his plan works will unfold over time. I applaud what he did at ISU, but PSU and the B1G are different animals. I also think it is fair to be both excited and skeptical at the same time. I don’t think we have to pick a side here. We are all on the same team.
Sure PSU and ISU are different. This class is far superior to any class he ever had at ISU.
Why do you think Saban got out of the coaching game when he did?
Also, PSU will be fine. As of right now on 247. IF you look at the average ranking per recruit in the B10. PSU is 4th behind USC, OSU and Oregon. Seems to me that would have put us second in conference before the P12 expansion teams came in.
Sure they are going to be fine, but they are no longer nearly as loaded as they used to be. The gap in player talent between OSU and the entire B10 is being reduced. Beyond all of that, they will not have the huge depth advantage. The high level kids that just dont pan out are not going to stick around and they used to in the past. The almost had to or they had to sit out a year.
Why do you think Saban got out of the coaching game when he did?
Also, PSU will be fine. As of right now on 247. IF you look at the average ranking per recruit in the B10. PSU is 4th behind USC, OSU and Oregon. Seems to me that would have put us second in conference before the P12 expansion teams came in.
The high level kids that didn’t pan out didn’t stick around before. Joe Burrow, Jameson Williams, and Julian Fleming say hello. Kids haven’t had to sit out a year for quite some time now, which I feel was a mistake. I get what you are saying, but I’m not sure that helps your argument. The best kids on their roster will stay. They have good coaching. They have good recruiters. They have deep pockets. Are they trending back to the pack? Maybe. I guess. But with a roster blue chip ratio double PSU’s right now, they are still going to be tough to beat. They are still the benchmark of the league until they aren’t. Is Indiana the new benchmark? Maybe? It will be fun to see it all play out.
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Agreed. I do like Campbell. He seems very genuine. I didn't dislike Franklin. He was a good ambassador for Penn State.
The WR production was just too weak to blame it solely on overrated players and not the coach also. One guy or a couple but when you are talking about an entire position group underperforming the problem runs deeper and is more pervasive then simply every guy was overrated and the coaching could not do anything.
I've said this before. I remember reading about a kid from a B12 school (I think it was Oklahoma St) that transfersed to OSU and they asked him what the big difference was between the two programs. He said that with the first team there really wasn't all that great of a differnce but that OSUs 4th team was just as good as his previous teams 1st team. There was just almost no gap in the OSU players.
That is going away. Sure you can name several players that left OSU years ago, but its nothing like it is now. OSU lost 31 players to the portal with all but about 2 or 3 going to another P4 conference team. They aren't losing what are viewed as weak players.
That is going away. Sure you can name several players that left OSU years ago, but its nothing like it is now. OSU lost 31 players to the portal with all but about 2 or 3 going to another P4 conference team. They aren't losing what are viewed as weak players.
The new five-year eligibility rule is going to change things dramatically. It’s going to somewhat deemphasize high school recruiting compensation allotments for all but the top 3 to 5 wealthiest teams. I read elsewhere that we have had high school compensation capped at 20% of total pay payroll. That may change now as there needs to be an allotment for the fifth year seniors that want to stay. There may be a few pretty heavy hitters on PSU’s current Cylion roster that go for a fifth year. They’re obviously not doing that for free, so we may need to set aside funds for that component of the roster.