Penn State head coach James Franklin discusses LaVar Arrington II, keeping Andrew Olesh and much more on National Signing Day

Penn State had another boring National Signing Day, but if you asked head coach James Franklin, he’d be the first to tell you that he’s just fine with that. The Class of 2025, which finished No. 13 nationally in On3’s Team Rankings, had limited drama throughout the cycle. Flipping five-star tight end Andrew Olesh back on Dec. 6, just hours before the early signing period closed, will go down as one of the marquee moments, but for the most part, days like today are what Franklin and his staff would like to see every year.

With only a few blue-chip players left unsigned, Wednesday was just another day for the majority of Power Four programs. However, there were a few additions in the Big Ten. Michigan added Top 100 offensive tackle Ty Haywood, while Maryland signed edge rusher Zahir Mathis from Imhotep in Philadelphia.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Big Ten Network aired a signing day special to discuss each school and Franklin joined host Mike Hall and others to discuss the class. Read what he had to say below.

James Franklin discusses the next class at ‘Linebacker U’

Penn State added three linebackers in this year’s class, all of whom earned a four-star rating in On3’s Industry Rankings, which combines On3, 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN for a cumulative grade.

LaVar Arrington II headlines the group. Not only is he the son of one of the school’s top players of all-time, but the Covina, Calif., native was also the highest-ranked of the three, coming in at No. 259 nationally and No. 29 at the position. Pennsylvania prospects Alex Tatsch, from Latrobe, and Cam Smith, who plays at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, ranked just behind him positionally at No. 31 and 37, respectively.

Franklin was asked about all three of them during the show.

“Cam Smith is a local guy [from] St Joe’s Prep out of Philadelphia that always does a great job,” Franklin said. “[Cam] really flashes on film. Really good athleticism, and plays in a great high school program, understands the sacrifices that you have to make to win. He won’t get here till the summer.

Link: How does Penn State’s 2025 tight end class stack up over the past 15 years?

“Obviously, LaVar Arrington is a name that jumps out to everybody. LaVar, obviously, [has] tremendous genetics and a history with the university. But I would say this: we would recruit LaVar whether he was LaVar’s son or not. I think that’s very, very important. We want LaVar for what he can bring to the table, for what he’s put on tape and the type of athlete he is. You saw in high school, they used him as both a traditional linebacker and as an edge player coming off of the offensive tackle. He’s shown explosiveness there. We think he has a chance to be very, very special. He’s already on campus.

“Tatsch is a guy that we’re very, very high on. He came to camp [and] put up crazy numbers for us. He had a really, really successful junior year. His senior year, he ended up getting hurt and missing some time, but I think he would have been a national recruit if he would have been able to play the entirety of his senior year. He’s on campus as well, rehabbing, doing extremely well. I think that those guys have very, very bright futures.”

Nittany Lions add three ‘explosive’ edge rushers

Penn State signed three high school defensive ends back on Dec. 4. Ohio native Chaz Coleman never played the position before his senior year. Following a coaching change at the school, he’s now considered one of the best in the nation at the position by On3, coming in at No. 136 nationally and No. 17 at the position. Three of the four major sites also made him a four-star, as Coleman climbed to No. 202 nationally in the Industry Rankings.

Dayshaun Burnett went from a high three-star to a four-star player in On3’s final rankings, making him a consensus four-star prospect at all four sites. Cortez Harris was also previously ranked as a four-star player, but after missing much of his senior, he fell just outside the Top 400 threshold in the Industry Rankings to No. 435 nationally.

But in addition to the high school signees, Penn State also needed to add experience to its room. Deion Barnes went out and got a local player that the staff missed out on in the Class of 2022, adding Philadelphia native Enai White after he left Texas A&M.

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“Enai was a guy that we recruited out of high school, out of Philadelphia,” Franklin said when asked about his incoming portal addition first. “Imhotep High School does a tremendous job. He went to another school and then we had an opportunity, once he went into the portal, to be able to bring him back home. He was a highly recruited guy out of high school. We’ve [had] a ton of success with not only defensive ends but also guys out of Imhotep High School, so that was a big get for us. Getting an older guy in the room we thought was important as well.

“Dayshaun Burnett’s a local kid here out of Pittsburgh that really did it all. He played wide out in high school, played quarterback in high school. He played linebacker, defensive end, did a ton of different things and had a very successful career.

“Cortez is a guy that’s been dunking since seventh grade. He’s another guy [who] got injured his senior year, but if you go on his Twitter page, it’s pretty impressive watching him dunk in seventh grade. But he’s a great athlete. He missed most of his senior year, so that impacted him, but [he’s another] guy that we think is explosive.

“Chaz is a guy that we took late in the process out of Ohio. It came down to a battle between us and Ohio State. He was a guy that played quarterback as a junior. He’s a high level basketball player as well with tremendous length and athleticism that we think has a chance to be very, very special.”

Olesh was crucial for Penn State to keep the streak going

The addition of Olesh was important for multiple reasons. Not only did Penn State keep him from playing for Big Ten rival Michigan, which was most important, but it also kept Penn State’s streak of landing the top-ranked player in Pennsylvania alive. Dating back to Nick Singleton in 2022, the Nittany Lions have now signed the No. 1 player in the Keystone State in four consecutive classes.

With Harrisburg native Kevin Brown already committed in the 2026 class – Brown is on pace to be a five-star offensive tackle – that streak should continue another season. But let’s not forget that one of Penn State’s two 2027 commitments is running back Kemon Spell from McKeesport. Long way to go, but as of now, he’s considered the No. 1 running back in the nation for his class.

Link: Penn State locks in official visit with four-star TE Mack Sutter

“For us, in general, we want to do a great job in the state of Pennsylvania,” Franklin said. “We want to do a great job in the footprint. We just [have] such a high hit rate. Whether it’s Andrew Olesh, number one player in the state this year, or whether it’s Cooper Cousins, or whether it’s Micah Parsons or Saquon Barkley, the best players in the state of Pennsylvania that have decided to stay home, those guys have flourished. It makes sense for both parties.

“[Andrew] is a guy that we had in camp. We offered him early and he blew up in high school. Like a lot of these tight ends, he was primarily used as a wideout but has the frame to be big. He’s 6-foot-5, 210 pounds. We anticipate him being able to get up to 250 pounds. [Olesh has a] similar body type to guys that we’ve had in the past, but his athleticism, his catch radius, his toughness, I think is going to be big for us.”