Penn State will emphasize Pennsylvania with next recruiting coordinator hire
Penn State coach James Franklin made clear in his first news conference in State College that recruiting Pennsylvania prospects was going to be among his top priorities as the leader of the Lions.
Franklin’s program has not won all of the battles for every top recruit in the Keystone State. But, it’s taken its fair share of both walk-on and scholarship players, five-stars to three-stars, and high school prospects and junior college transfers in its home state.
“I think with everybody pulling the rope in the same direction, there is no reason why we can’t take this program where everybody wants it to be,” Franklin said on Jan. 5, 2014. “We should take great pride in representing the State of Pennsylvania.
“We should take great pride in having the ability to play for Penn State University, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to unite the coaches, we’re going to unite the community, and build this program where everybody wants it to be, everybody wants it to be.”
New Penn State job posting has specific responsibility
Pennsylvania has been and always will be a priority for Penn State. However, a new job listing posted by the university this week affirms that the emphasis won’t be going away and, in fact, will only get stronger.
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The Lions aim to hire another assistant recruiting coordinator this offseason, and the job description is specific. Responsibilities include, in part, coordinating all aspects of evaluating, ranking, and recruiting the top offensive/defensive/specialist prospects from the state of Pennsylvania, the northeast region, and across the entire country.
It goes without saying that the existing support and on-field staff cover every inch of Pennsylvania and the country. But, having one individual focused solely on the state (along with other areas, of course) will only improve the program’s relationships from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and everywhere in between. Who knows what that could lead to down the road, but the state isn’t going to stop producing top-tier talent.
Staff building continues to be a priority
Franklin signed a new 10-year deal last offseason. Part of the agreement helped fund a larger staff. Penn State now has at least eight full-time staffers working under General Manager of Personnel and Recruitment Andy Frank and director of player personnel Kenny Sanders. They also have at least 10 analysts to help break down film on recruits and opponents, self scout, and many other tasks.
“It’s about manpower in recruiting,” Franklin said last March.
“It’s about manpower in terms of when we’re breaking down film and when we’re watching tape that we have enough perspectives in the room and enough experience in the room, and then obviously it helps you also — it also helps you obviously in terms of manpower when it comes to game planning and those types of things.”
