Recapping Cristian Driver's path to Penn State
Penn State fans, the following story appears in Blue White Illustrated’s upcoming Class of 2022 recruiting magazine. It features over 70 pages of analysis, bios and superlatives on the most recent class. You can order today at BlueWhiteOnline.com.
National Signing Day inherently carries a certain amount of emotion for those involved, but for Penn State head coach James Franklin and the Driver family, there was an added layer.
Franklin coached legendary wideout Donald Driver during his time with the Green Bay Packers organization in 2005. When Driver’s son, Cristian, arrives in Happy Valley this summer, Franklin will have coached two generations of Drivers.
“It was really surreal today,” Franklin said. “We all got emotional. Mom and dad got emotional talking about that. The fact that they feel strongly enough to trust their son to not go down the street, but go far away and come to Penn State and play for me, and be able to coach dad and now son is really special.”
Driver, who attended Liberty Christian High School in Argyle, Texas, is a four-star prospect according to the On3 Consensus, which ranks him as the No. 289 overall recruit in the 2022 cycle.
Driver played on both sides of the ball in high school, but he’ll play safety at Penn State — at least to start things off.
“There is still flexibility there that exists,” Franklin said. “You never know what the future holds, but we feel like that side of the ball, we initially offered Driver as a defensive back and then he felt like he wanted to play wideout and then about halfway through the season, he texted and said, ‘hey, I’ll trust the coaches and I’m open to playing anything. Excited about playing defensive back.’”
Link: Where did Penn State’s top prospects end up in updated On300?
Listed by Penn State at 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, Driver won the most valuable player award at Liberty Christian twice.
A four-time all-state selection in high school, he received invitations to play at the Navy and Grey All-American Game, as well as the Under Armour All-American game.
As a senior, he made 56 tackles and broke up six passes while playing for Cowboys great Jason Witten.
Top 10
- 1New
Baseball Field of 64
Projecting NCAA Baseball Tournament
- 2
ESPN Top 25
Way Too Early hoops rankings
- 3
Pop Isaacs
Creighton guard commits to Houston
- 4Hot
Mel Kiper
2-round mock draft
- 5
Seth Trimble
Announces UNC return
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
“I wish I could have a team of 22 Cristian Drivers,” Witten said. “He is a well-raised kid, with a desire to be great. Penn State is getting a special player and an even better person. He has all the tools to compete at the highest levels.”
As you’d expect for such an accomplished player at the high school level, Driver received plenty of interest.
Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan all offered, as did local powers Texas and Texas A&M.
He accumulated over 40 scholarship offers in total, receiving an offer from Penn State all the way back in November of 2018.
The Nittany Lions were the only program to earn an official visit from Driver, which he took on June 18 of last year. He gave Penn State his verbal commitment about a month later.
“I could say so much about Penn State and why that’s the school for me, but the one thing I really liked was the family that they have there, the brotherhood,” Driver said.
“It’s not about the individual there. It’s about the team. They don’t have names on the back of their jerseys. People know you there based on your number, not your name, because it’s not about you. It’s about the team. That’s where ‘We Are’ comes from.”
