Penn State football called one of June's biggest recruiting winners: Newsstand
Penn State news, notes, and updates for July 2 include a review of the Lions’ standout recruiting month in June. It’s time to dive into Tuesday’s top tweets and headlines about head coach James Franklin’s program and college athletics.
Penn State headlines of the day
We start with On3’s round-up of the top programs on the trail in June. Penn State finished fifth in the country with an average prospect rating of 90.31 over its nine commitments during the calendar’s sixth month.
“The Nittany Lions have become known as a program who identifies top targets and lands a bunch of early commitments under James Franklin,” Keegan Pope writes for On3. “This cycle is no different, as Penn State holds 20 total commitments as we close the month of June. And nearly half of those came over the past four weeks. It would be hard to argue any program loaded up on defensive talent more than PSU, as they landed: four-star cornerbacks Daryus Dixson and Jahmir Joseph; high three-star cornerback Antonio Branch; four-star EDGEs Cortez Harris and Jayden Woods; four-star linebacker Max Granville; and three-star safety Braswell Thomas.
“They added a few major offensive targets as well with On3 top-10 running back Jabree Wallace-Coleman and four-star receiver Jeff Exinor joining the class well. The Nittany Lions sit at No. 13 nationally and still have some runway to move up heading into the December signing period.”
Alabama led the way with an average rating of 92.28 over nine commitments. Georgia was second (91.81 and eight), Oregon third (91.9 and seven), and Ohio State fourth (90.81 and nine).
Headlines of the day
Playfly Brings New NIL Initiative to Penn State: Wogenrich, SI
Exclusive: James Franklin talks Drew Allar, receivers, coordinators, more: Bauer, BWI
Film review | Penn State EDGE commit Max Granville plays with violence: Haas, Daily Collegian
What did we learn about Penn State on the recruiting trail in June?: Snyder, BWI
What were the top Penn State football takeaways from June?: Pickel, BWI
Quote of the day
“
I think last year, everybody wanted to talk about leadership. And last year, with a first-year quarterback, in a lot of ways you don’t really want that on his plate. If it happens organically, fine. But if not, you just focus on being the best quarterback you can and let’s grow into this other role.
“The other thing is, he’s just such a good kid. Such a good-hearted kid that some of those tough conversations probably don’t come as natural to him as others. But I’ve seen him really grow this offseason and be more comfortable in that role. I think Beau Pribula is similar as well. I think those two, and I think Grunk, for a guy who, a lot of times, the third quarterback won’t do that, and I see him doing a little bit more at this stage. But good, he’s taking steps in the right direction. I think we need more of it”
–PSU coach James Franklin to BWI on handling QB Drew Allar this offseason.
