Matt Campbell's first recruiting class has a Pennsylvania-sized problem

ASFN Admin

Administrator
Administrator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
May 8, 2002
Posts
1,144,747
Reaction score
59
Matt Campbell has one of the hottest recruiting starts in the country for a first year head coach. After coming in mid-recruiting cycle after a mass exodus of 2027 commits from Penn State's program, he has turned the class into one of the nation's best, currently ranked 5th in the nation and first overall in the Big Ten. However, there is one problem that several fans may not be able to ignore: the state of Pennsylvania is largely absent in it.

This may be one of the best in-state classes in Pennsylvania history, with three top 50 prospects in the class and seven within the top 120. However, when you look at Penn State's class, no matter how deep it is, there are only four PA commits total. In fact, out of the entire list of Pennsylvania prospects in the top 120, only one is committed to Penn State: No. 120, Stanley Montgomery. This is a glaring issue that Matt Campbell has not amended as of yet, but may still have the chance to in the coming months.

This may be one thing that former head coach James Franklin had over Matt Campbell, which is the ability to recruit elite Northeast talent. Because of James Franklin's experience in the eastern half of the country, he was able to attain more success than his more southern counterpart. Still, it's not as if Campbell is completely struggling to find footing in important states. The class does have some representatives from New Jersey, Maryland and Massachusetts, which shows his prowess in recruiting along the eastern seaboard.

Still, with only a couple of recruits left in PA that could alter the fortunes of the class, Campbell had better throw all his chips into getting them on board, because Penn State can't afford to miss out on homegrown talent anymore.

This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Matt Campbell's first recruiting class has a Pennsylvania-sized problem

Continue reading...
 
Top