2027 Recruiting Thread

LB99

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Man, so great to see PSU and Campbell eating James's lunch. VT ranked 45th for 2027 on 247 and PSU is 9th. Good job James!! You are not the thing. And never were. Love this. Will be shocked if VT cracks the top 30 this year.

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No offense, but are you still salty about ex girlfriends in HS also? This is a poor take. You’re letting Franklin live in your head. VT is not who we should strive to beat out in recruiting. That’s low hanging fruit. I seem to be noticing a theme with many of the recruits PSU is getting. They have offers from VT, Pitt, Maryland, Syracuse, Rutgers, etc. and several aren’t even ranked in the top 20 of their own state. Many do not have offers from the big boys. Frankly, that makes me nervous. PSU needs to beat out schools like ND, OSU, Michigan, Oregon, and USC if we expect to beat them. I’ll say it again, OSU has commitments from 3 of the top 20 overall recruits in the nation. They have top notch coaching and they land top athletes at every position. Until we go toe to toe with them in recruiting, it’s going to be a big ask to beat them on the field. Campbell is a really good coach and developer, but talent wins out eventually. I like Campbell, I like his approach for the most part, but this is what I had trepidation about when he was hired. If ever there was a team that needs to have a really good season in 2026 and look really good doing it to get some momentum going, it’s PSU.
 
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LMTLION

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He’s the fourth ranked recruit in Ohio and has an impressive offer list. Yes, this is the kind of player PSU needs to beat OSU, Michigan, Oregon, etc.
Always remember in recruiting that stars change. A number of our three stars will be four stars when the cycle concludes. You saw it last season in the coaching transition class. Reeder went from a complete unknown to a composite four star.
 

Marshall2323

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Man, so great to see PSU and Campbell eating James's lunch. VT ranked 45th for 2027 on 247 and PSU is 9th. Good job James!! You are not the thing. And never were. Love this. Will be shocked if VT cracks the top 30 this year.

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So excellence at the highest level, is getting a commitment from 3 stars who we assume had a committable offer from VT?
How far the mighty Nittany Lions have fallen. Ohio State is frozen with fear.
 
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LB99

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Always remember in recruiting that stars change. A number of our three stars will be four stars when the cycle concludes. You saw it last season in the coaching transition class. Reeder went from a complete unknown to a composite four star.
Maybe. We will see. Personally, I think the offer list for a recruit is telling. I get that Campbell wants kids that fit. I get it. Totally. It does seem, though, that he is still looking for diamonds in the rough, which he doesn’t need to do at PSU like he did at ISU. I hope all these kids pan out and kill it on the field and in the classroom. I’ll be rooting for them.
 

Nits1989

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Maybe. We will see. Personally, I think the offer list for a recruit is telling. I get that Campbell wants kids that fit. I get it. Totally. It does seem, though, that he is still looking for diamonds in the rough, which he doesn’t need to do at PSU like he did at ISU. I hope all these kids pan out and kill it on the field and in the classroom. I’ll be rooting for them.
I thought Campbell’s typical recruit class at ISU was in the 50s. He’s beating that at PSU.
 
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LB99

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I thought Campbell’s typical recruit class at ISU was in the 50s. He’s beating that at PSU.
He should be. PSU has way more resources than ISU. That’s the expectation. Beating OSU, Michigan, Oregon, and ND is now the measuring stick. Fair or not, he will be judged on whether he beats these teams on the field and that isn’t going to happen without top talent.
 
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LMTLION

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Maybe. We will see. Personally, I think the offer list for a recruit is telling. I get that Campbell wants kids that fit. I get it. Totally. It does seem, though, that he is still looking for diamonds in the rough, which he doesn’t need to do at PSU like he did at ISU. I hope all these kids pan out and kill it on the field and in the classroom. I’ll be rooting for them.
I agree that the offer list is often a good tool to evaluate a player. Campbell’s team does not use ‘stars’ in the recruiting process at all. They use their own evaluations. Franklin supposedly per insiders had a person on his staff that lobbied the recruiting services to increase his recruits ratings. Franklin to his credit found some great players at 3 star ratings - Fashnu, Warren, Ioane, etc.
 

LB99

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I agree that the offer list is often a good tool to evaluate a player. Campbell’s team does not use ‘stars’ in the recruiting process at all. They use their own evaluations. Franklin supposedly per insiders had a person on his staff that lobbied the recruiting services to increase his recruits ratings. Franklin to his credit found some great players at 3 star ratings - Fashnu, Warren, Ioane, etc.
Fields. He was in on Fields before Fields blew up to a 5 star. I’m guessing most coaching staffs use their own evaluations. We just hope those evaluations are accurate and they are ahead of the curve at PSU. Time will tell.
 
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LMTLION

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Fields. He was in on Fields before Fields blew up to a 5 star. I’m guessing most coaching staffs use their own evaluations. We just hope those evaluations are accurate and they are ahead of the curve at PSU. Time will tell.
He gets credit for Fields for sure. I think we have a shot at a natty in 2019 with Fields at QB.
 
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Midnighter

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No offense, but are you still salty about ex girlfriends in HS also? This is a poor take. You’re letting Franklin live in your head. VT is not who we should strive to beat out in recruiting. That’s low hanging fruit. I seem to be noticing a theme with many of the recruits PSU is getting. They have offers from VT, Pitt, Maryland, Syracuse, Rutgers, etc. and several aren’t even ranked in the top 20 of their own state. Many do not have offers from the big boys. Frankly, that makes me nervous. PSU needs to beat out schools like ND, OSU, Michigan, Oregon, and USC if we expect to beat them. I’ll say it again, OSU has commitments from 3 of the top 20 overall recruits in the nation. They have top notch coaching and they land top athletes at every position. Until we go toe to toe with them in recruiting, it’s going to be a big ask to beat them on the field. Campbell is a really good coach and developer, but talent wins out eventually. I like Campbell, I like his approach for the most part, but this is what I had trepidation about when he was hired. If ever there was a team that needs to have a really good season in 2026 and look really good doing it to get some momentum going, it’s PSU.

No offense, but not reading all this. F James. That is all. It’s college football - trying to inductively reason someone’s behavior or personal preferences based on message board talk is insane.
 

PSUFTG

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There is some shock in Blacksburg that Campbell is recruiting so well and they are not.
When, in order to feel superior, PSU starts comparing themselves to VT, its over.

FWIW:
Recruiting certainly isn't over for the year (maybe around 1/2 way?), but when was the last time - aside from last year's understandable fubar - PSU had 3/4 of their recruits NOT be Blue Chips (4 or 5 star)?
It was 2014.
Since then, PSU's % of Blue Chip recruits has averaged about double the rate of the current class.

Yes, I know: "The PSU recruits are really much better than what the "experts" are saying, stars don't matter (except when they do), and HCMC is gonna' coach up 3 stars to beat 5 stars". :unsure:

But, it is what it is.
National Champions!
 
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LB99

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There is some shock in Blacksburg that Campbell is recruiting so well and they are not.
Where are you seeing that? Just curious because I looked at one of their message boards when I read your post and all I saw was excitement that they had approximately 130 recruits on campus for their spring game and they feel like Grunk to Reynolds is their TD combo this season?
 
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Nits1989

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Where are you seeing that? Just curious because I looked at one of their message boards when I read your post and all I saw was excitement that they had approximately 130 recruits on campus for their spring game and they feel like Grunk to Reynolds is their TD combo this season? I think some here need to get over it.
My brother has season tickets at VT and has for 15 years. The fan base has modest hopes.
 
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Nits1989

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They should have modest hopes. They have been down for awhile and it’s a new beginning. They are in a conference where they can make steady improvements. We’ll see.
I think Franklin will get them over .500 right away and may surprise with a pretty good record. The fans don’t want to get ahead of themselves.
 
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TheWizardofCamelot

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It was like 3 weeks ago the loons in this thread were bugging out.

I think Campbell and Co are doing a great job recruiting and evaluating, but I also believe this place sells itself. I don’t care who the coach is, we’re going to attract talent.

Wiltfong just CB’ed another QB to ND, by the way. Fingers crossed the QB/skill dominoes start to fall.
 
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PSUForever

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No offense, but are you still salty about ex girlfriends in HS also? This is a poor take. You’re letting Franklin live in your head. VT is not who we should strive to beat out in recruiting. That’s low hanging fruit. I seem to be noticing a theme with many of the recruits PSU is getting. They have offers from VT, Pitt, Maryland, Syracuse, Rutgers, etc. and several aren’t even ranked in the top 20 of their own state. Many do not have offers from the big boys. Frankly, that makes me nervous. PSU needs to beat out schools like ND, OSU, Michigan, Oregon, and USC if we expect to beat them. I’ll say it again, OSU has commitments from 3 of the top 20 overall recruits in the nation. They have top notch coaching and they land top athletes at every position. Until we go toe to toe with them in recruiting, it’s going to be a big ask to beat them on the field. Campbell is a really good coach and developer, but talent wins out eventually. I like Campbell, I like his approach for the most part, but this is what I had trepidation about when he was hired. If ever there was a team that needs to have a really good season in 2026 and look really good doing it to get some momentum going, it’s PSU.
I agree with your overall premise that our competitive set are the big boys of the B10, OSU, Oregon, Michigan even Indiana who I expect to keep improving in HS recruiting. And not Syracuse, MD etc.

With that said, I don't think we have to be a perennial top 5 recruiting program. We won't be and were not under Franklin. If we can be top 12 and maybe every 4th year we are say top 7 or 8 then I think between the portal and talent development along with a coach who can actually spring an upset or beat a team with equal talent then we should be able to compete.
 

LB99

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I agree with your overall premise that our competitive set are the big boys of the B10, OSU, Oregon, Michigan even Indiana who I expect to keep improving in HS recruiting. And not Syracuse, MD etc.

With that said, I don't think we have to be a perennial top 5 recruiting program. We won't be and were not under Franklin. If we can be top 12 and maybe every 4th year we are say top 7 or 8 then I think between the portal and talent development along with a coach who can actually spring an upset or beat a team with equal talent then we should be able to compete.
Perhaps you are right, but getting into the top 10 annually would be helpful. With Campbell’s coaching, a top 10 recruiting class and some seasoned portal talent would be tough to beat.
 

Nits1989

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It was like 3 weeks ago the loons in this thread were bugging out.

I think Campbell and Co are doing a great job recruiting and evaluating, but I also believe this place sells itself. I don’t care who the coach is, we’re going to attract talent.

Wiltfong just CB’ed another QB to ND, by the way. Fingers crossed the QB/skill dominoes start to fall.
Internet articles indicate its Champ Monds.
 

PSUForever

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Perhaps you are right, but getting into the top 10 annually would be helpful. With Campbell’s coaching, a top 10 recruiting class and some seasoned portal talent would be tough to beat.
Yep, would love the top 10 but I don't think it will be that black and white that we won't be a contender if we are not consistently in the top 10. I do think we can't be too far away from it or we will see us at a talent disadvantage vs programs like OSU, Oregon and probably ND, Michigan etc. Although not sure about Michigan as they have not recruited top 5 classes in recent years. Nevertheless, that is why I said top 12 because I think if we slip to a mid teen level recruiting class ranking then we probably do see a significant talent disadvantage vs the top 5 type classes that is too much to overcome.
 

LMTLION

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Where are you seeing that? Just curious because I looked at one of their message boards when I read your post and all I saw was excitement that they had approximately 130 recruits on campus for their spring game and they feel like Grunk to Reynolds is their TD combo this season?
247
 

LMTLION

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It was like 3 weeks ago the loons in this thread were bugging out.

I think Campbell and Co are doing a great job recruiting and evaluating, but I also believe this place sells itself. I don’t care who the coach is, we’re going to attract talent.

Wiltfong just CB’ed another QB to ND, by the way. Fingers crossed the QB/skill dominoes start to fall.
Georgia, the other serious competition for Peter Bourque, may also be soon closing on a different qb. Fingers crossed we land PB.
 

PSU89er

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Nov 22, 2023
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FWIW:
Recruiting certainly isn't over for the year (maybe around 1/2 way?), but when was the last time - aside from last year's understandable fubar - PSU had 3/4 of their recruits NOT be Blue Chips (4 or 5 star)?
It was 2014.
Since then, PSU's % of Blue Chip recruits has averaged about double the rate of thThis site has Betton and Robinson as 4 stars. That alone gets you well over you 3/4 remark.

This site has Betton and Robinson as 4 stars. that get you well over your 3/4ths before you even start.

Like others have said. Look at the offer list of these kids. Most all of them have a handful of SEC/B10 offers. They are high level players. More importantly, I don't think PSU is taking plan B kids. I really think they landed the 4 DBs they wanted (assuming they all sign). Six of the eight three stars are high 3 star kids, and a couple of them likely will be 4 stars before they are done, and maybe that makes people happy.

Rankings are still way early. Lets say we land Case Alexander. Looks like we may. "Are you going to say. Look, Rivals has him at 123 in the country. These are the types you need to win." or "ESPN/247, three star. I know stars dont matter but they do."

I remember Abdul Carter rated as the 9th best player in PA. I watched for about three games and understood he was probably about the 9th best player in the country. 247 rated 11 players that we signed as better than him in 2022. When you look at Terwilligers offers list. He appears to be one of the top two or three TEs in the country, but I dont think recruits from South Dakota rate all that well very often. Sure enough, he really doesn't.
 

Thorndike2021

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I have to say something here; it's getting tougher and tougher to come to this board and read some of this stuff. Some of yinz need to take a step or two back and self-assess.

We got a really good recruit this weekend. That's good news. But like a lot of the time these days 'good news' isn't good enough or just becomes another excuse for bitter whining. It's really a problem here.
 

LionsAndBears

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I have to say something here; it's getting tougher and tougher to come to this board and read some of this stuff. Some of yinz need to take a step or two back and self-assess.

We got a really good recruit this weekend. That's good news. But like a lot of the time these days 'good news' isn't good enough or just becomes another excuse for bitter whining. It's really a problem here.

I have habitual offenders blocked and the rest I ignore. It makes my experience on here a lot more enjoyable.