James Franklin details how Penn State White Out impacts recruiting

This weekend, Penn State is going to host Iowa. It’s an important Big Ten clash. On top of that, it’s also going to be the team’s annual White Out game, a tradition that creates one of the most impressive environments in all of college football. It’s also an environment that head coach James Franklin will look to take advantage of in recruiting.

At one point, despite growing up in Pennsylvania, Franklin felt like he understood Penn State. However, he now knows that he didn’t properly appreciate the White Out game until taking over the program.

“Yeah, not really,” James Franklin said. “I think growing up obviously, I had a very good awareness, obviously, growing up just outside of Philadelphia of what Penn State was and what it was all about. But, not to the level that I understand and appreciate it now. I had never been to a game here. I came to a camp here I think when I was in 10th or 11th grade. But, no, I didn’t have an understanding or an appreciation of the White Out.

Unlike James Franklin, however, a lot of the players on Penn State did get to experience and appreciate the White Out before getting to Happy Valley as players. In many cases, it’s why they came.

“But now obviously, not only is it impactful for us, you think about how many of our guys talk about their recruiting process and how the White Out had a big impact on that. You think about when we got here, a lot of the good players that were on the team, talking about that five-overtime win with Michigan, it was a ton of guys on our roster that had experienced that.

According to the On3 Industry Rankings, Penn State currently has the 12th-ranked recruiting class in the 2024 cycle. That class includes 15 four-star recruits. The Nittany Lions had the 14th-ranked class in the 2023 cycle and the seventh-ranked class in the 2022 cycle as well.

“So it’s meaningful. It’s not just meaningful for our football program. This is a huge recruiting weekend for the other 30 sports as well. It’ll be, in some ways, a zoo this weekend. It’ll be an increase of probably 250,000 people in town, 110,000 people in the stadium, another 100,000 whatever tailgating, which is something I still look forward to doing at some point in my life. Tailgating sounds awesome. But then a ton of recruits on official visits, on unofficial visits, and I think this is an opportunity that the other sports use to show the atmosphere and community that we have here. If you come to Penn State and play volleyball, if you come to Penn State and play field hockey, this is the type of support you’re going to get,” Franklin said.

“This is the type of community that you’ll be able to experience And then, not only that, all of these nationally televised games, but also obviously specifically the White Out, it’s more than just athletics. It’s an opportunity to showcase the entire university as a whole.”

Urban Meyer called Penn State-Iowa a monster game

Ahead of the Penn State-Iowa game on Saturday, former head coach Urban Meyer shared that he’s excited for the game, calling it a monster game.

“This is a huge game, and you’re right, there’s so many other big games that this is a monster game. I think Iowa is the team to beat in the West. I think they’ve got the best defensive coordinator in college football. They’re tough, they’re rugged. You know how I feel about Coach [Kirk] Ferentz — I’ve always admired him and it’s arguably the most consistent. I know, offensively, they’ve been a mess the last couple of years, but they still find ways to win,” Meyer said.

“So, Penn State better be ready because Iowa finds a way. You know what’s gonna happen. In the fourth quarter, you’re gonna look up and the score is gonna be a four-point game.”