Penn State Recruiting: What to expect during the early signing period

The early signing period is almost here Penn State fans.

Starting Wednesday, Penn State’s coaching staff will be able to sign the 25 players who have been committed for months. Wide receiver Omari Evans was the most recent player to join, and that was way back on Oct. 2.

As most fans already know, the majority of the work for this class was done in June and July. That’s when Penn State went on an incredible run, with 12 players verbally committing in a 41-day span. That run began with junior college offensive lineman JB Nelson on June 21. It ended on July 31 when linebacker Abdul Carter and safety KJ Winston committing during the Lasch Bash Barbecue.

So, what can fans expect when the early signing period opens at 7 AM Wednesday? Here’s where we stand.

A Very Busy Morning

Penn State’s commits can’t send in their letter of intent until 7 AM local time. That’s not eastern time, but local time of the prospective student-athlete. Because of that, don’t expect to see tight end Jerry Cross or wide receivers Omari Evans and Cristian Driver being the first to sign. They can’t send theirs until 8 AM Eastern time or later since they live in the Central Time Zone.

The rest of the class all lives in the eastern time zone, so I expect 7 AM to probably 11 AM ET to be very busy. As we’ve seen in the past, Penn State will announce its signings on Twitter, and we’ll track them all at Blue White Illustrated in our Signing Day HQ throughout the morning.

Last year, everyone was signed by 9:50 AM, but the class was also substantially smaller than this year. The 2020 class, which was about the same size, saw its final players confirmed a little after Noon ET. I would expect something similar, as Penn State will stagger out those announcements.

Also, for those wondering, they won’t be sending in faxes. That’s no longer how things are done. Schools send out their Letter of Intent via Adode PDFs nowadays. It goes to the player first, and once the player has signed digitally, it’s immediately sent to his parents. After the parents have signed, it goes to the school for them to process. Once a few more signatures are completed, Penn State will be able to announce publicly.

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Any Drama?

All signs point to Wednesday being fairly straightforward.

Offensive lineman Andre Roye did take an official visit to USC this past weekend to meet with Lincoln Riley and his staff. However, our sources have indicated that they still expect Roye to sign with the Nittany Lions come Wednesday. We’ll have to watch and see, however, as you know Riley and his staff will be working on him throughout the next two days. One plus for Penn State is that USC can’t come meet with him at his school or home, as the contact period ended Saturday.

Running back Kaytron Allen is also one to speculate on rumors that Ja’Juan Seider is being courted by Billy Napier at Florida. As of Monday morning, Seider’s status was still TBD, but it could be something to watch. Our colleagues in Gainesville believe there’s a real chance he may make the move before Wednesday.

Aside from those two, I don’t see a reason to worry about anyone else. Defensive tackle Zane Durant did visit Miami during the season, but he seems to be very happy with the addition of Manny Diaz. Even if someone else was hired at defensive coordinator, Durant was going to end up at Penn State as long as Franklin was here.

Monday Musings: Recapping a busy weekend for Penn State football

James Franklin Press Conference

Speaking of Franklin, he’ll meet with the media Wednesday afternoon.

Penn State confirmed Monday that Franklin will meet with the media on Zoom at 2:45 pm eastern time. In addition to Franklin, Penn State will also allow the media to meet with the team’s recruiting coordinators on offense and defense, Taylor Stubblefield and Terry Smith. Director of Player Personnel Andy Frank will also be available. Those three will all take place immediately following Franklin.

Due to NCAA rules, no one connected with Penn State’s football program is allowed to publicly comment on prospects. That all changes once they sign Wednesday. For the first time, we’ll get Franklin’s opinion on Drew Allar, Nick Singleton, Dani Dennis-Sutton and so many other future stars.

BWI Live Show: Signing Day Special

BWI’s Thomas Frank Carr and Tom Hannifan will be back for another live show Wednesday night on YouTube. Recruiting analyst Ryan Snyder will also join as the three give their impressions on the most recent class.

We’ll go live at 6 pm eastern time and the show should last about an hour. We’ll provide a link to YouTube Wednesday afternoon.