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Penn State’s huge upset as a 20-point underdog of Ohio State could have big recruiting implications. As has been widely publicized, James Franklin has never defeated a team that finished the season ranked. Barring a total collapse from Ohio State, that streak will end. Removing the stigma of being unable to win a big game, and, removing the silly hot seat talk will help Penn State’s staff on the recruiting trail down the stretch.
Penn State was expected to go 7-5 this year by Las Vegas odds. At 5-2, with road games at Purdue, Indiana, and Rutgers — plus home games against Iowa and Michigan State — it’s exceedingly likely that Penn State blows by those expectations.
Black Shoe Diaries, SB Nation’s Penn State site, called the win “the biggest in a decade,” and expects recruiting to really pick up.
PSU’s class currently sits 21st nationally in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, with five four-stars and nine three-stars. That is not a bad haul, but there is an enormous gulf between the Nittany Lions and the Wolverines and Buckeyes, who have a combined 27 blue-chips and just eight three-stars.
BSD has a strong breakdown of what commits this could most help sway to Happy Valley. It had this to say about in-state cornerback Lamont Wade, a four-star cornerback from Clairton (Pa.), for whom PSU is battling Pitt, Ohio State, and others.
Penn State needed a strong season to help sway Wade, and this win should help. Will be officially visiting Happy Valley for the Iowa game.
The timing of Penn State’s breakout season is great. Michigan State looks like it is headed for a losing season for the first time in a decade. The Nittany Lions may be on the way to passing the Spartans for the No. 3 program spot in the division, while at the same time blowing out a pseudo-rival in upstart Maryland.
SB Nation’s Steven Godfey spoke with Franklin Monday morning. Franklin credited the famous Penn State “whiteout” crowd for helping the Nittany Lions produce an atmosphere that is awesome for recruits.
Franklin said around 180 recruits were in attendance, as the whiteout has become a recruiting tactic as much as celebration. The staff met with targets through Sunday afternoon, emphasizing the environment in Beaver Stadium.
“I think if you ask most of the guys on the roster now, they’ll remember visiting here during the 4-OT whiteout vs. Michigan [in 2013]. They still talk about, because that type of game and environment stays with you. That’s why I’m serious when I say that the fans were a part of the victory; it’s more than just being loud.”
Willie Gay decommits from Ole Miss
Ole Miss is unranked for the first time since 2013. While the Rebels are surely the best four-loss team in college football (no sarcasm, as the losses have come to Alabama, LSU, Florida State and Arkansas), Ole Miss also has zero impressive wins.
It’s also failing to gain momentum on the recruiting trail. Monday morning, four-star Willie Gay, of Starkville, decommitted after visiting Michigan. Gay was the No. 2 player in Mississippi’s class, and is another in a long line of recruiting misses at the position for the Rebels, as Red Cup Rebellion explains.
Gay was Ole Miss’ second-highest rated commit behind wide receiver D.D. Bowie but most importantly, he was a linebacker, a position at which Hugh Freeze has routinely whiffed on the recruiting trail.
Five-star linebacker Mique Juarez, who at one point was thought to have Ole Miss as his leader, left a Rebels hat on the table and signed with UCLA last February. Less than two hours before, four-star JUCO David Luafatasaga had abruptly backed out of his year-long commitment to Ole Miss and flipped to Utah. That all came a year after five-star Leo Lewis jumped ship for Mississippi State in the 11th hour and two years after three-star Duke Riley flashed the fin his entire senior year before signing with LSU.
Ole Miss’ class currently ranks 43rd, with no indication that the Rebels will pull off some of the late-season heroics on the recruiting trail that has happened in recent years.
The Rebels’ loss could be a gain for one of several schools, including Florida State, Michigan, or Mississippi State.
Fresh off his visit to Michigan, Gay rated the Wolverines as his No. 1 school. He kept a close eye on Jabrill Peppers during the game.
Believe it or not, Gay feels like he could perform like Michigan athlete Jabrill Peppers under defensive coordinator Don Brown.
"I was watching Jabrill Peppers play the whole game," Gay said. "Being that he plays the position they want me to play, I can really see myself playing that."
Having seen both players in person several times when they were recruits, Gay is nowhere near the athlete that Peppers was at the same stage.
FSU is also in the picture, with Gay coming in to visit for the Clemson game this weekend. Florida State will be selling early playing time.
Florida State’s linebacker situation for 2017 and beyond is a mixed bag.
Starters Matthew Thomas and Ro’Derrick Hoskins are both juniors, though Thomas could turn pro, having already missed a season due to academics. Third-year sophomore Delvin Purifoy has not regained form after a devastating ankle/leg injury two years ago. Sophomore Sh’Mar Kilby-Lane is academically ineligible this year, and it’s unknown if he will regain eligibility. True freshmen Dontavious Jackson, Emmett Rice and Josh Brown are promising players.
Quickly
One Foot Down says that Notre Dame has a problem recruiting players on the defensive side of the football. The results would agree.
State Of The U looks at where Miami can turn after the Canes gained and lost a commitment from defensive backs over the weekend. Anecdotally, the excitement around Miami’s program among recruits is still increased from the latter portion of the Al Golden era, despite recent losses.
TCU added two very talented receiver recruits in recent days. First, the Frogs flipped Jalen Reagor from Oklahoma. Then, they added a commitment from Omar Manning.