Penn State Continues to Scoff at NCAA With Recruiting Success

Submitted by Cold War on

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This upcoming season was supposed to be the time period where Penn State began to feel the Berlin Wall of recruiting failures begin to fall upon them. The domino effect of their inevitable downfall and disappearance into obscurity was supposed to begin with nearly every considerable recruit in the nation refusing to go to the central-Pennsylvania institution. People referred to Penn State’s punishment dealt to them by the NCAA as this era’s version of the ‘Death Penalty.’ Top-level talent not going there was intended to render the program to the point of near irrelevancy by the time the five-year probation concludes.

Today, yet again, Bill O’Brien and his staff once again displayed that they will do everything in their power to make sure that the NCAA’s intended outcome for the football program never comes to fruition.

O’Brien and staff secured the commitment of four-star safety Marcus Allen from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, adding to an already impressive 2014 incoming class. Stuff like this wasn’t supposed to happen.


Read more at http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-football/2013/05/10/penn-state-continues-to-scoff-at-ncaa-with-recruiting-success/?WV2yAYLwPOyhxuCw.99

Bando Calrissian

May 12th, 2013 at 8:23 PM ^

If kids still want to sign on the dotted line despite the sanctions, O'Brien and co. must be doing something right. 

So, basically, good on them. I hope they find a way to rebuild their program.

clarkiefromcanada

May 12th, 2013 at 10:11 PM ^

Exactly. Maybe people forget that JoePa's classes used to be strong.

JoePa, a guy who locked down Pennslyvania and had a national reach would be rolling over in his grave looking at this list

Rant Sports? Srsly.

 

Committed - Not Yet Signed
RB
Hyattsville, MDDeMatha
5'7"
185
 
3 stars
5.6
10/16/12
WR
Mt. Lebanon, PAMt. Lebanon
6'2"
175
 
3 stars
5.7
4/13/13
WR
Middletown, DEMiddletown
6'2"
202
4.5
4 stars
5.8
4/23/13
LB
Wilmington, DESalesianum School
6'3"
232
4.5
3 stars
5.7
2/26/13
ATH
Fairfax, VAFairfax
5'11"
180
4.5
3 stars
5.7
2/23/13
ATH
Swansboro, NCSwansboro
5'11"
172
4.4
3 stars
5.7
4/20/13
LB
Warren, MIDe La Salle
6'2"
215
 
2 stars
5.4
5/10/13
RB
Coatesville, PACoatesville Area Senior
5'10"
175
 
3 stars
5.7
5/3/13

 

Section 1

May 13th, 2013 at 12:11 PM ^

I'm just guessing, that the point of this thread was to drive traffic and page-hits to Rant Sports.

It's too bad, really, that we will be in a football division that includes Penn State, Rutgers and Maryland.  I just doesn't feel like the Big Ten.

FreddieMercuryHayes

May 12th, 2013 at 9:30 PM ^

Seriously. It's OK. All the four stars are like, the lowest of 4 stars as well. They're not in the same ball park as UM and OSU. Decent, but not phenomenal. And this also completely glosses over the main fact that have no depth for the better part of the decade. And I'm starting to get irritated by PSU's additude like the 'Man' is trying to keep them down. Your coach and staff was complicit in children getting raped in the freaking program. Just take your punishment and move on. Get some perspective.

gwkrlghl

May 12th, 2013 at 8:30 PM ^

but there's not going to be enough men aboard to plug them all. Eventually they're going to be featuring multiple walk-ons in their starting line up and then it won't matter how many stars the other guys have

I will give O'Brien a lot of credit though for recruiting pretty darn well for the kind of sanctions PSU is under. If he's still there on the other side, PSU is going to be a force

Farnn

May 12th, 2013 at 8:30 PM ^

Doesn't necessarily surprise me considering the early playing time you can offer along with the fact that by the time these kids get to campus there will only be 2 years left of bowl ban so they can still go to a couple of bowls.  Now if they start to suck this year and next it could be a rough road, but there will always be Pennsylvania kids who want to go to PSU to make up at least part of the class.

Schembo

May 12th, 2013 at 8:31 PM ^

Penn State might be the best place for some players to get to the NFL.  A 4* recruit might get to start for 3 or 4 years.   

UPMichigan

May 12th, 2013 at 9:42 PM ^

I thought the same thing until I thought about how good is a 4* running back going to run against a poor offensive line. How good is a 4* linebacker going to look when the opposing team's offensive line blasts through my defensive front and continuously gets to the second level? The experience is definitely a plus, but a lackluster team may hinder your abilty to expose your strengths. 

denardogasm

May 12th, 2013 at 8:33 PM ^

This point of view in regards to sanctions is so stupid. The sanctions are meant as a penalty to make things difficult, not to guarantee that they suck. Of course the new staff is going to try to keep recruiting and playing at a high level, and if they succeed at it more power too them. This basically reads as sour grapes directed at the recruits, which is ridiculous. If a kid wants to help reclaim the school's good name I have no problem with that and you can't say the penalties aren't working because of it.

NittanyFan

May 12th, 2013 at 9:55 PM ^

(disclaimer: I am a PSU fan) .... the NCAA penalties are what they are, I accept them.  Still, accepting them doesn't mean that I as a fan or our players and coaching staff should just lie down and quit.  We should TRY to compete and excel.  

 

Maybe we'll go a combined 0-48 the next 4 years, maybe we'll go 16-32, maybe we'll go 32-16 .... who knows?  As long as we're working to do our best within the rules, I'll root for PSU regardless.

maizeonblueaction

May 12th, 2013 at 8:37 PM ^

than it probably is. It's not a vast, secret conspiracy to not suck. Every program tries to not suck, and if they are able to get a bunch of 3 stars to show up despite sanctions, what's the big deal?

TheGhostofYost

May 12th, 2013 at 8:38 PM ^

I feel bad for these recruits.  I don't thnk they have any idea what a trainwreck that program is about to become, and obviously the coaches aren't going to tell them.  

MGoRobo

May 13th, 2013 at 2:35 AM ^

Or maybe the coaching staff is telling it like it is, and the recruits are buying into the new philosophy under O'Brien. I really don't see why you should feel bad for them. It's not like these athletes don't know what they're getting into when they sign the LOI. Pretty sure we've all been overexposed to this scandal through ESPN, so it's not like they're oblivious...

no joke its hoke

May 12th, 2013 at 8:39 PM ^

the article forgets one very important part of being able to remain good.Depth.  they are getting some good players, but that team will have zero depth in a year or two. their couple of four stars are going to e backed up by two stars and walk on's.

America

May 12th, 2013 at 8:40 PM ^

Eh.  If you go through their list of commits there are only a couple guys who had other meaningful options.  They are recruiting about where they should be with a two year bowl ban for this incoming class.  If you thought that Penn State would not be able to recruit anyone at all even though they are still playing in the Big 10 and still playing in front of 107k then you probably bought into the media hype machine too much and/or were not looking at their situation objectively.

BursleysFinest

May 12th, 2013 at 8:52 PM ^

  Seeing as how most of the people that the sanctions would want to punish have either passed away, are in jail or aren't affliated with the program anymore, I'm not mad that O'Brien is doing (relatively) well down there 

MGoStrength

May 12th, 2013 at 9:38 PM ^

If I were PSU I'd be more worried about the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast more than the Midwest as PSU has been good at recruiting PA, NY, NJ, MD, etc.  But, with Rutgers and Maryland coming to the division and Michigan already setting up roots in VA, I'd be more concerned about UM and  OSU taking their share of kids from the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast which has traditionally been PSU's areas.

gwkrlghl

May 12th, 2013 at 11:25 PM ^

The timing of B1G expansion and PSU's sanctions is really bad for Penn State. While Penn State is under these sanctions, Michigan and OSU (and Notre Dame too) are expanding their recruiting turf out east. All three of those schools are 1) on the rise and 2) soon going to be playing a lot more games out east. The east used to be their turf and their turf alone but Michigan, OSU, and Notre Dame are moving in

MGoStrength

May 12th, 2013 at 8:58 PM ^

I hope PSU remains competitive because a good PSU is good for the B1G.  I think Michigan will seperate themselves from the likes of PSU with recruiting over the next few years which should give us enough of a cushion once PSU gets off sanctions to remain ahead of them.  But, nonetheless, I still hope PSU remains successful and puts together 7-9 win type seasons throughout their sanctions.  

 

Not that I like any team in the B1G other than Michigan, but I've been to Beaver Stadium a number of times, have friends that live in State College, have a number of friends that went to PSU, and really enjoy the times I've spent there and just in general and like their fanbase.  So, good for them.  As long as they don't beat us I wish them the best, especially since they had good rivalry with OSU and beat them quite a few times through the 2000's, even when we couldn't beat them.

JayMo4

May 12th, 2013 at 8:59 PM ^

If O'Brien sticks around long enough, I think Penn State is going to be really good once the sanctions have passed.

Fortunately for us, we should be in full stride long before then.

Zone Left

May 12th, 2013 at 11:08 PM ^

He won't get the opportunity. The guy after the guy who replaces him has a shot to be the school's knight in shining armor. He'll be remembered as either the guy who just couldn't get it done or a casualty of sanctions. It's not like Lane Kiffin is getting any slack at USC and Penn State is going to be much, much worse in a couple of seasons. College football is cutthroat.

Perkis-Size Me

May 12th, 2013 at 9:00 PM ^

As long as we take care of business whenever we play them, I hope Penn State continues to do well. It only helps to strengthen the conference. If O'Brien can string together 7-9 win seasons for the next three years, and he's still Penn State's coach following the sanctions, they could be a real force down the road, and will make the Eastern division all the more difficult.

Seth

May 12th, 2013 at 9:22 PM ^

BO'B seems to know what he's doing. That said the last recruit before this was Wangler's other kid, a 2-star linebacker who had interest from MSU and would flip to Michigan if he manages to play his way into an offer his sr year. Recruiting like Sparty at their peak when they have such a small class is not going to make them a threat without finding a LOT of diamonds.