Penn State had just one high school decommitment in the Class of 2024, a record low; where did the player sign?
Penn State set a record to be proud of with its Class of 2024. The Nittany Lions lost just one verbal commitment en route to signing a top 20 group of high school seniors. Over the Franklin era in State College, at least two players have picked Penn State only to late decommit from it. Here’s how it breaks down by signing class (2014 does not count as the Lions were finishing that group on the fly):
2015: 4
2016: 7
2017: 2
2018: 6
2019: 3
2020: 7
2021: 2
2022: 4
2023: 8
2024: 1
“It’s awesome,” four-star interior offensive lineman and Class of 2024 Penn State signee Cooper Cousins, a class leader, told the PSU in-house signing day show.
“We’re happy. I’m super proud of everybody in this class. Everybody stayed true, loyal to their commitment. Nobody had any missed thoughts or anything. You know, just super proud, super happy, and just grateful for everybody sticking true to their commitment.”
Who was the lone Penn State decommitment?
It is offensive lineman Deryc Plazz. The Jacksonville, Fla., native committed to Penn State on June 4. But, he backed away from that pledge less than a month later on June 15. He ultimately committed to Miami on July 7 and signed with the Hurricanes on Wednesday.
“When I become a Hurricane, I just want to get there; I just want to bond with the guys and just try to be the best I can be,” Plazz told On3 sister site Cane Sport. “I don’t set any individual goals, but I want to be a part of the reason Miami wins a national championship. Whether that is as a starter or a scout team guy, I just want to be a part of the resurgence of Miami.”
Penn State did not get Plazz out of Jacksonville, Fla., Mandarin. But, it did get two defensive backs from the school: Jon Mitchell and Antoine Belgrave-Shorter. It’s worth noting that the three weren’t teammates, though, until after Plazz picked the Hurricanes and then transferred into the school.
Lions approach led to a cohesive class
Penn State will have years like this one and years where its decommit list pushes 10 players. That’s just the nature of college football. But, the team’s approach to recruiting, both in the high school ranks and in the transfer portal, will keep that number closer to zero more often than not.
“We’ve been fortunate, really, in my 10 years here, we have not had a whole lot of drama,” James Franklin said last week. “There’s been a little bit, but we haven’t had a whole lot of drama, and you guys have heard me talk about that before. We’re very up front and transparent. Really always have been.
“Sometimes that hurts us where we miss on kids because we don’t tell them what they want to hear. We’re an under-promise, over-deliver program, and I think that’s been a big part of our success, as well. We don’t pressure guys or try to convince guys by selling them on a dream and not reality, and I think that’s worked out really well for us. We’ve had very little drama when it comes to signing days.”
