Penn State football is back this week in preparation for their Big Ten match up against Michigan this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in Ann Arbor.
The team is coming off their bye-week after suffering an embarrassing 29-6 loss to Northwestern at home a week earlier. The bye-week proved to be revitalizing for head coach James Franklin and his players. Franklin gave his players Thursday, Friday and Saturday off, and returned to the practice field on Sunday. The time off allowed the Nittany Lions the chance to recuperate physically and mentally and prepare for a tough road contest in the Big House.
While the players had a chance to get caught up on rest, it was business as usual for Franklin. The first-year head coach and his staff took advantage of the bye-week to do some in-season recruiting. During the college football season, opportunities to recruit come few and far between. Therefore, maximizing any free time to build for the future throughout the season is necessary.
Currently, Penn State’s 2015 recruiting class ranks seventh in the nation and first in the Big Ten according to ESPN Recruiting Nation. The team has 20 verbal commitments out of a maximum 25. Twelve four-star recruits and 10 three-star recruits make up the 2015 class so far.
Franklin did not mention where he and staff were headed during their recruiting trail, but we do know that they visited 2015 defensive tackle commitment and four-star recruit Adam McLean on Thursday night. McLean tweeted his excitement that coach Franklin and running backs coach Charles Huff traveled to Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Md., to see him play against Churchill High School. Pictures surfaced on Twitter showing Franklin arriving to the game in Maryland via helicopter.
Checking up on McLean proved that the weekend was not only about trying to secure five more commits, but also about checking in with the players who have already committed to the Nittany Lions.
With that, here is a list of the Penn State Nittany Lions 2015 recruiting class, which is in the top-10 in the nation for the first time since 2006:
Name |
Position |
Star Rating |
High School |
Height/Weight |
Brandon Wimbush |
(QB) Dual |
★★★★ |
St. Peter’s Prep (NJ) |
6’2″/205 |
John Reid |
CB |
★★★★ |
St. Joseph’s (PA) |
5’10″/180 |
Sterling Jenkins |
OT |
★★★★ |
Baldwin (PA) |
6’8″/305 |
Adam McLean |
DT |
★★★★ |
Quince Orchard (MD) |
6’2″/290 |
Juwan Johnson |
WR |
★★★★ |
Glassboro (NJ) |
6’4″/200 |
Ryan Bates |
OL |
★★★★ |
Archbishop Wood (PA) |
6’5″/280 |
Saquon Barkley |
RB |
★★★★ |
Whitehall (PA) |
5’11″/190 |
Andre Robinson |
RB |
★★★★ |
Bishop Mcdevitt (PA) |
5’9″/205 |
Steven Gonzalez |
OG |
★★★★ |
Union City (NJ) |
6’3″/300 |
Kamonte Carter |
ATH |
★★★★ |
Gaithersburg (MD) |
6’4″/235 |
Brandon Polk |
WR |
★★★★ |
Briar Woods (VA) |
5’9″/152 |
Manny Bowen |
OLB |
★★★★ |
Barnegat (NJ) |
6’2″/206 |
Daiquan Kelly |
ATH |
★★★ |
Union City (NJ) |
6’2″/206 |
Irvin Charles |
WR |
★★★ |
Paul VI (NJ) |
6’4″/212 |
Ryan Buchholz |
DE |
★★★ |
Great Valley (PA) |
6’6″/240 |
Jake Cooper |
ILB |
★★★ |
Archbishop Wood (PA) |
6’1″/220 |
Jonathan Holland |
DE |
★★★ |
The Bullis School (MD) |
6’4″/240 |
Ayron Monroe |
S |
★★★ |
St. John’s College (DC) |
6’0″/195 |
Myles Hartsfield |
S |
★★★ |
Sayreville War Memorial (NJ) |
5’10.5″/175 |
Jarvis Miller |
S |
★★★ |
Suffield (CT) |
6’2″/188 |
*Section photo credit to Justin K. Aller, Getty Images; Featured photo (above) credit to Nabil K. Mark, MCT