[2023] Recruiting Class Grades Batch 4

[tsweezy]

It's that time of year again! Time to hand out recruiting class grades!

This is the fourth batch, and I have like 25 more teams to do so don't worry I'll (eventually) do you if you want me to

A quick note: everything should be explanatory, but the rankings are: ESPN and Rivals per the interface along with 247, Ezaco's SSEC rankings are without regional bonuses, and the top-15 versions are just taking into account the top-15 croots signed. Average Rank tosses out high and low ranks and averages remainder

 

Today's: @Rocketcan @Piercewise1 @cultur3

 

 

:indiana:

University of Indiana

Big 10 Conference

2022: 7-6 (5-4)

 

 

Recruiting Class Basics:

IND signed a 5-star, 4 4-stars, 11 3-stars, and 9 2-stars. They signed 8 players with B or higher potential and 3 players with B overalls. Rankings info below:

 

 

ESPN	Rivals	247	247-15	SSEC	SSEC-15
27	22	32	23	6	17

 

Average Rank: 22.25

 

Signees below:

 

 

Name	Stars	Ovr	Pot	Pos	Archetype	City	State
Timothy Doak	5	B	C+	C	Pass Blocking	Windermere	FL
Scott Creech	2	C	C+	C	Pass Blocking	Tallmadge	OH
Kenneth Mossey	3	C	C+	CB	Zone Coverage	Denton	TX
Ted Castilleja	2	C	C+	CB	Ball Hawk	Carpentersville	IL
Patrick Patton	4	C+	B	DE	Run Stopper	Bethesda	MD
Eugene Yeboah	3	C	C+	DE	Run Stopper	DeLand	FL
Anthony Gomes	2	C	B-	DE	Run Stopper	Lexington	SC
Phillip Otter	3	C+	C+	DT	Nose Tackle	Alexander City	AL
Stephen Padden	2	C	C	DT	Nose Tackle	Pleasant Grove	AL
Timothy Moore	4	B-	B+	FS	Ball Hawk	Lynchburg	VA
Chad Grant	2	C	C+	FS	Zone Coverage	St. Clair Shores	MI
Scott Preston	2	C	C+	FS	Zone Coverage	Monroe	MI
Damon Devlin	3	C	B	ILB	Field General	Honolulu	HI
Steven Fifer	3	C	C+	ILB	Speed	Buffalo Grove	IL
Michael Williams	4	B-	B	OG	Run Blocking	Laurel	MD
Daniel Crowell	3	C	C	OLB	Pass Rush	Vancouver	WA
Peter Landis	3	C	C+	OT	Balanced	Columbus	OH
James Huelsman	2	C	B-	OT	Pass Blocking	Tuscaloosa	AL
Samuel Johnson	4	C+	B	QB	Balanced	Chattanooga	TN
Manuel Garcia	3	C	C+	QB	Pocket	Crete	IL
James Whitt	3	C	C+	RB	Speed	Woodstock	IL
Robert Porter	3	C	B+	SS	Run Stopper	Atlanta	GA
Thomas Ireland	2	C	C+	SS	Zone Coverage	Loveland	CO
Frank Ksor	3	C	B+	TE	Vertical Threat	Arlington Heights	IL
Mauricio Roberts	2	C	B	WR	Speed	Wintersville	OH

 

 

 

Below is a breakdown position-by-position of (from L-R) their current roster, what they did on the trail, and the grade I gave them in recruiting that position.

 

 

Pos	Grade	Current Status	# Signed	Crooting Status	Croot Grade
C	C-	A B- Junior is the only bright spot currently here. Very very weak room especially considering last years signees were a below average 2 star and a garbage 1.	2	Oh ok so they just got one of the best players in the country to fill in here. 5 star Timothy Doak is an amazing player and will probably graduate as the best pass blocking center in the country. Very impressive. They also took a random 2 star just because	A
CB	C+	They actually have a really good top of the line group. A rare A overall 3 star is the headliner. They also have a really good pair of junior Zone cover corners who could push that A- line as well next year. Unfortunately last years cycle was just a pair of mediocre 2 stars and a pair of horrid 1 stars, so there's going to be a hole until IND can fill in with actual good players	2	They signed a 3 and 2 star who wouldn't ordinarily be that noteworthy, but after last years trainwreck it serves to lift the floor again and get back on track	C
DE	C+	Again, they have a really solid A overall speed rusher in Ty Bogdanov, but after he goes pro next year they'll have... one B overall? and then all 2 stars in the room. Not exactly what you want	3	Adding a trio of run stoppers is a clear signal about what they value in this position. Patrick patton is a great B potential 4 star future star while they also added a 2 and a 3 for floor-raising reasons	B-
DT	B-	They have 2 ok seniors, and then an A- junior who is the best guy in the room. That's it, just those 3 players	2	Signing 2 was great to pull off, another 2/3 star combo signing (both nose tackles from Alabama) starts to fill the room back up	C
FB	C+	They signed a horrible 1 star last year, but a 4 star B+ overall the year before so the position is quite good. Curious how much they use these guys this season	0	Didn't sign any	-
FS	C+	B+ senior is the deserved starter this season, but in the future they probably were looking at the 3 star from last year who took a redshirt	3	Three FS is a tad bit excessive considering this wasn't the worst position on the team. The 2 2-stars were kind of gratiutious adds considering they added a phenom 4-star B overall, B+ potential Ball hawk. I assume he redshirts and then starts 4 consecutive years	A-
ILB	C-	Pretty bad shape here in general. They had their 2 upperclassmen make the C+ to B- jump which is pretty good I guess. Elijah Robinson is by far the best guy in this room and he's extremely mid for a B1G starter. Last year they took a horrid 1-star so they need floor raising pretty badly	2	They definitely raised the floor here. A pair of 3-stars here leaves them with good options moving forward and allows at least the possibility of flexing to a 3-4 in the future	C+
K	B	One of the better rooms so far. They have an accurate B overall senior and a B+ junior power kicker. Considering they didn't sign one last season it may be in their best interest to RS the junior and get their future kicker this next cycle	0	Didn't sign any	-
OG	C	A B overall senior is a little below expected for a starter. While a B+ junior with B+ potential is great to have at one position, the depth behind them is non-existent. Last year they signed 3 guys, and 2 of them should not be seeing the field, bit of a waste of scholarship	1	Adding a B overall, B potential Run blocker looks really good here. He is one of the best players already and erases a lot of serious concerns about the long term health of the room. Nice get	B
OLB	C	Some good pass rushing upperclassmen. Justin Marquez should be a good player next year (and Brooks Jones is a good player now). Unfortunately there is nobody behind them worth a damn and after Brooks leaves it's debatable if they will have any B options to fill in next season. They definitely need at minimum more 3 stars	1	They got one of those 3 stars which is an overall improvement for this room, although I would've liked to see them pick up a second as well	C
OT	C	I feel like every room has been the same story. Some relatively talented upperclassmen, but not enough for deep depth, followed by a crater last year. Anyways, this room is fine for this year, next year will have one good starter and bad depth, yadda yadda this is repetitive. Its at least nice that most of the OTs are balanced so they have some flexibility in terms of what schemes to run.	2	They added average 3 and 2 stars here. Again, nothing splashy but trying to staunch the bleeding from last year's disaster	C
P	C+	Oh this is ok. They signed a 3 star with B potential last year and he was sorely needed as they have 0 other punters on the roster. Nice work AI	0	Didn't sign any	-
QB	C-	Yikes, one of the worst QB situations. Very few good options. Their best player is a 3 star pocket guy (sounds good right)... who is a B- overall senior (I mean B- isn't usually horrible but I'd wager very few teams really have nothing better than that). They also didn't sign anybody last year and the juniors don't look too hot so there is an impending giant hole on the way. Hopefully they get somebody good here	2	Great position to hit on somebody good. Samuel Johnson is a balanced player from Chattanooga (I almost went after him) who got the bluechip designation along with quite good B potential. This guy was sorely needed and should be a long term leader for this team	B+
RB	B	There is a lot of talent here. Geoff Alburquerque is an A- receiving back who has 2 years left, and they RS'd speedy Mike Bradley to give a year of separation between Geoff, but he is already a B+ overall so a big jump during the RS year for him	1	They signed (and redshirted) a pair of 1 star guys from last years class but this year signed James Whitt who's better than both of them. He'll definitely see carries as an upperclassmen so good pickup	C
SS	C-	They signed a 2-star each of the last 3 years and the only one who looks relatively ok is the senior zone coverage guy. After this year they will be in a spot of trouble	2	They looked ready to continue the tradition of signing an ok 2-star each year, but bucked it when they added on B+ potential 3-star Robert Porter out of Atlanta. He is definitely the answer to the exceeding average-ness they had brewing as he should develop well each year	C+
TE	C-	Lots of drop off over the years. They have a B overall 3-star senior blocking TE who is ok I guess. But then the next option is a junior 2 star C overall (not suited to be a B1G starter), and last year a 1 star blocker who certainly shouldn't play. Needless to say, 2TE sets should be off the table this season and next	1	Added a B+ potential 3-star Vertical threat who reverses the downwad trajectory here. Still, considering he will be the only acceptable player on the roster next year they'll probably need more depth at a minimum	C+
WR	C+	One of the best signees last year, Tyler Looney was a B overall 4 star who took a redshirt and made a bit of progress. With B+ potential he may even hit A-/A overall for his sophomore year next year. The seniors panned out as prospects and they have ok juniors as well. This room won't scare you until Looney progresses again, but it's not too bad	1	Unfortunately they didn't get another Looney this season as their only signee was a B potential 2 star. They almost certainly need to pickup a few baseline depth guys so opposing teams don't just triple Looney in the next few years	D+

 

 

 

It's a tough balance grading this class because last year's signees were just so bad in general. They needed to lay a baseline for future starters, and for the most part they did that. They even had a few sexy signings like Doak, Moore, and Johnson. This class certainly addresses the unique issues Indiana was facing so I'm happy to say they did a good job, even if it wasn't a "stellar" class relative to some others that will be examined

 

 

Class Grade: B-

 

 

 

 

:umiami:

University of Miami (FL)

Atlantic Coast Conference

2022: 5-7 (2-6)

 

 

Recruiting Class Basics:

MIAF signed a 5-star, 8 4-stars, 9 3-stars, 3 2-stars and 4 1-stars. They signed 5 players with B or higher potential and 1 players with B overalls. Rankings info below:

 

 

ESPN	Rivals	247	247-15	SSEC	SSEC-15
22	32	25	17	40	36

 

Average Rank: 28.75

 

Signees below:

 

 

Name	Stars	Ovr	Pot	Pos	Archetype	City	State
Allen Roy	4	C+	C	CB	Man Coverage	Yorktown	VA
Lorenzo Thompson	3	C+	C+	CB	Man Coverage	Clifton	NJ
David Martin	2	C	C	CB	Man Coverage	Jacksonville	FL
Tobey McLawrence	5	B	B-	DE	Speed Rusher	Pensacola	FL
Luis Kinzer	3	C	C	DE	Balanced	Jacksonville	FL
Robert Bradley	1	D	F	DT	Balanced	Tallahassee	FL
Marlon Fields	4	C+	A-	FB	Rushing	Chula Vista	CA
Thomas Durham	2	C-	C+	FS	Man Coverage	Fulton	MS
Alan Hoffman	1	D	A	K	Accuracy	Gulfport	FL
Anthony Allen	4	C+	B-	OG	Run Blocking	Pasadena	MD
John Russell	4	C+	C	OLB	Coverage	LaGrange	GA
Kyle Wright	3	C	C+	OLB	Speed	Oviedo	FL
Yan Morton	3	C	B-	OT	Run Blocking	Vacaville	CA
Yogesh Shigematsu	3	C	B	OT	Pass Blocking	San Diego	CA
Nathan Hartigan	4	C+	C	QB	Pocket	Cumming	GA
Timothy Cornish	3	C	B	QB	Scrambler	Grantsburg	WI
Antony Wagner	3	C	C+	RB	Speed	New Orleans	LA
Charles Jackson	3	C	C+	RB	Speed	Fort Myers	FL
Matthew Hubbard	1	D	A+	SS	Ball Hawk	Stockbridge	GA
Michael Babcock	2	D	C-	TE	Receiving	Navarre	FL
Juan Alvarez	1	D	F	TE	Vertical Threat	Orlando	FL
Charles Martin	4	C+	C	WR	Possesion	Mundelein	IL
Eric Woodward	4	C+	C	WR	Speed	Cedar Springs	MI
Jose Vega	4	C+	B-	WR	Red Zone Threat	Deltona	FL
Christopher Perry	3	C+	C+	WR	Route Runner	Delray Beach	FL

 

 

Below is a breakdown position-by-position of (from L-R) their current roster, what they did on the trail, and the grade I gave them in recruiting that position.

 

 

Pos	Grade	Current Status	# Signed	Crooting Status	Croot Grade
C	C+	They made use of some redshirts here as Jorge Turner gets 2 years to start (B+ overall A- potential) with last year's 2 star A potential signee getting to ride the bench for another year of development. I don't think he's the future answer but he's fine in a pinch	0	Didn't sign any	-
CB	C+	They signed a trio of guys with B potential last year and they have an A overall senior this year. Currently their CB2-4 are lackluster and not championship caliber but the future looks bright... If they can figure out what the hell they're planning. Those trio I mentioned? Well 1 is man, the other 2 are zone, and they redshirted 2 more zone 1-stars from last cycle. Actually the more I look at this the more confused I get. Kind of a mess but at least it nominally looks like a zone team?	3	I only said that last line so I could refute it lol. They signed 3 man cover corners this year. That totally blows up 4 of the 5 signings they had last year but I guess they went with talent at least? They got a 4 star from VA to come on down and added ok 2 and 3 stars. They now have 8 underclassmen corners: 4 man and 4 zone and roughly split with which option has more talent. Seems like a waste of scholarships... or could it just be lots of flexibility??	C-
DE	C	A mid position. They have a pair of B+ overall speed rushers (with one being a RS SO, good for the future), and then a couple backup options. Last year was a 3-star signee who RS'd and then didn't progress at all	2	Big hits here Tobey McLawrence was DE 1A/1B this cycle and they kept him in-state to be the future face of the defense. They also picked up a 3 star because why not get a depth guy	A
DT	B	They have a pretty dang good senior, and then a B+, A potential RS SO behind him. Last year they also added a 4 star and good potential 3. This is a position that's pretty well stocked	1	They added a walkon here who SUCKS. Kick this man off the team, he has literally F potential. Anyway, they redshirted last years squad so these guys don't matter	C-
FB	D-	They have one player: A senior 1 star guy. If they want to play with FBs they'll need to sign one	1	Ooo they did. A 4-star A- potential rushing one at that. He may actually pick up some carries too as he was one of the top options at the position	A
FS	B	Future looks bright. They have a RS SO A- potential guy who will be starting for a while (zone coverage). Of course last year they signed a pair of good 3s and one of them is man coverage so not great for depth, but fine to switch schemes in the future since SS isn't really zone focused.	1	Added a pretty below-average 2-star here who I don't care about and shouldn't play.	C-
ILB	C-	Two seniors who are fine and then an ok RS SObehind them. Last year they also picked up an average 3 star so it should be ok here if not super inspiring	0	Didn't sign any	-
K	C-	Trend here. A senior 3 star A- overall is great! The junior behind him is a 1 star who doesn't matter. Then last year they got (and redshirted) a good potential 3: great!	1	And this year they added a 1-star who also sucks and doesn't matter. Rakeem redshirted last year though so Alan Hoffman doesn't matter one whit	C-
OG	B+	Actually a really good looking position here. The senior is an A overall team leader player, and then they signed a pair of 4 star pass blockers last year who took a redshirt meaning they'll have probably 3 years as full time starters. Not much room to be better tbh	1	They added another 4 star with B- potential here so now they have a ton of really good options in the future. Nice	B+
OLB	C-	Everybody is bad here. Not like bad bad though, just ACC-bad. They have 5 players, with 2 of them being 3-stars but none of them hitting B overall. Last years signee should be ok eventually on one side at least	2	Definite upgrade here. A coverage 4 star is the highlight with a fast 3 star on the other side. Definitely an improvement for this room	B
OT	B	Good hits here. RS SO A overall Scott Banner is going to lock down one side for the next 3 years, and the other side has some good talent and depth to it.	2	Last year they added a pair of 1 stars (and redshirted them even though they suck), and this year added a pair of B potential 3s who are much better. Good upwards trajectory	C
P	C	A pair of 3 stars the last 2 classes. This is fine work, not much to say	0	Didn't sign any	-
QB	B	A lot of options in this room. A RS JR B+ overall balanced QB, a RS SO B+ overall field general, and a RS FR B- overall Pocket QB. Any of them could take over and score some points and lead the Miami offense, just depends what direction they want to go. Deep room though	2	They added more variety with a B potential Scrambler and a 4 star pocket QB. I don't think Nathan Hartigan is particularly better than last year's Marco Leathersich but they'll eventually battle it out and at minimum be a great backup	B-
RB	C+	A bunch of good not great B overalls fill out the upperclassmen, but the belle here is last years Balanced signee Tavon Bennett. He took a redshirt and made the jump to B- so he's probably the future leader at the position	2	They signed a pair of 3-stars this year who are both speed backs with C+ potential. Odds are that one of them makes something of his career right?	C
SS	D	Bad. The senior B- overall is sup-par but not the worst. Behind him though is a RS SO man cover (clashing with the FS scheme) 2-star who's only a C+. Need a better guy in here soon	1	Uh this isn't it. I get the A+ potential is shiny, but a D overall 1 star Ball Hawk is at best only a good starter his senior year, and certainly won't be challenging Jordan Mahle next season	D+
TE	C-	A bunch of mid players. Marquis is a B overall vertical threat, and then the two juniors are C+ overalls. No signees last year	2	Adding 2 was needed for numbers purposes, but both guys are D overalls with not good potential, they would certainly like to recruit over them next year	D
WR	C+	A relative strength here. Ronald Cimber is a great senior route runner hitting that A overall. They also have a trio of B- Jr / So / RS FR players as Odighizuwa looks like a great future player	4	Now this is the strength of the class. They added 3 blue chip prospects and threw in a 3-star for good measure. Extremely bright future for the group here and look for MIAF to be an aerial assault team in the future	A-

 

 

 

I don't quite know what to think. Some of the RS decisions look great, but at least 4 of them went on 1-star, not good, players instead of better options within that position group so that's a bit of a negative. They had great signees at OG/DE/FB/WR so they have a good ceiling, especially in the passing attack. However some of the other positions didn't get enough love and weren't super well set-up by last years class either. Boom or bust down in Miami for sure, we'll see if they can fill enough holes next year

 

 

Class Grade: B-

 

 

 

 

 

 

:penn_state:

Pennsylvania State University

Big 10 Conference

2022: 8-5 (6-3)

Last Years Class: B+

 

 

Recruiting Class Basics:

PNST signed 4 5-stars, 3 4-stars, 13 3-stars, and 5 2-stars. They signed 5 players with B or higher potential and 4 players with B+ overalls. Rankings info below:

 

 

ESPN	Rivals	247	247-15	SSEC	SSEC-15
7	2	4	2	16	10

 

Average Rank: 5.75

 

Signees below:

 

 

Name	Stars	Ovr	Pot	Pos	Archetype	City	State
Oliver Kalkhoff	3	C	C	C	Pass Blocking	Perkasie	PA
Paul Philips	5	B+	C+	CB	Ball Hawk	Pottsgrove	PA
Shaun Bohlke	4	C+	B-	CB	Man Coverage	Somerville	NJ
George Roush	4	C+	C+	DE	Balanced	Lititz	PA
Clay Dreifus	3	C	C	DE	Speed Rusher	Newton	NJ
Nicholas Catton	4	C+	C+	DT	Nose Tackle	Blairstown	NJ
Harold Young	3	C	C	DT	Balanced	Wilmington	DE
Robert Tinklenberg	3	C	A-	DT	Balanced	St. Stephen	SC
James Watson	5	B+	D+	FS	Run Stopper	Havertown	PA
Arturo Ramos	3	C+	C-	FS	Man Coverage	Bridgewater	NJ
Christopher Amirian	3	C	C	ILB	Run Stopper	Doylestown	PA
Robert Miller	2	C	C	K	Power	Bourg	LA
Juan Santos	2	D	B	OG	Run Blocking	Sherman Oaks	CA
Steve West	2	D	B+	OG	Pass Blocking	Iowa Park	TX
Charles Caesar	3	C	C+	OLB	Pass Rush	Parlin	NJ
Sam Zedek	3	C	C	OLB	Coverage	Richland	NJ
Shawn Johnson	5	B+	B+	OT	Run Blocking	Glenelg	MD
Jimmy Turner	3	C	C-	P	Power	Rochester	PA
Gary Lupton	3	C	C+	QB	Scrambler	West Long Branch	NJ
Bruce Wahlstrom	3	C	C+	QB	Balanced	Claymont	DE
Jerry Brunson	3	C	C	RB	Balanced	Atlanta	GA
Stanley Lawther	2	D	B-	RB	Power	Lyndhurst	NJ
Sandeep Sun	2	D	B+	TE	Receiving	Newtown	CT
Brien Walker	5	B+	C	WR	Speed	Dallas	PA
Mark Sandoval	3	C	C	WR	Possesion	Princeton	NJ

 

 

Below is a breakdown position-by-position of (from L-R) their current roster, what they did on the trail, and the grade I gave them in recruiting that position.

 

 

Pos	Grade	Current Status	# Signed	Crooting Status	Crooting Grade
C	B	They have a senior A overall player anchoring the center of the line. Each of the last two years they signed and redshirted a solid 3-star player. Well positioned here	1	Added another (average) 3 star this year from in-state. Doesn't really raise or lower the room at all	C
CB	C+	The upperclassmen are ok. A pair of B+ players should hold it down for this year (although the caveat is that everyone is man except the one zone guy). Last year they also signed a 4 star and 3 star who both progressed to B- overalls	2	Well maybe they won't even need the zone player at all. Paul Philips was a 5 star Ball Hawk who walks in already almost at an A overall. He should be an instant starting option and future first round draft pick. They also snagged a B- potential 4 star to pair with him because why not. It would be extremely hard to top this class	A+
DE	B-	They're very very deep here but not a lot of top end talent (only one player B+). Last year they got a pair of blue chips: run stopper and speed rusher. Both redshirted and progressed well. The year before they got some high potential 2/3 stars who are already B- overall as well. This will be a deep and nasty room soon	2	They signed 2 more again: an in-state 4-star balanced option and a speed rushing 3. Not quite as good a haul as last year but it keeps the room championship caliber	B-
DT	C	Not quite as good in the middle. Last year's 3 star B+ signee is the most talented guy in the room and their seniors are just average	3	Big, big influx of talent here as they add a 4-star and a pair of 3s (including an A- potential). DT goes from being really thin and weak to pretty strong in terms of depth	B-
FB	B	They have a RS SO 4 star B+ overall, it's not urgent to get anybody else. They also added a 3-star just last year	0	Didn't sign any	-
FS	B+	A deep room for sure. There's a B+ overall RS SO run stopper and then last year they signed a zone B overall 4 star and a man coverage 3. They have their bases covered for any type of scheme although obviously depth suffers with the mismatches	2	Wow. Coverages may not matter because James Watson is another top of the class B+ overall 5-star who may well seize the job outright this year. He is a heavy thumper and bolsters his position in this future legion of boom. They also signed a 3 star semi-local kid	A
ILB	C	4 guys on the roster but none of them good. They have a single B- overall player and I don't think anybody looks on pace to develop to an A overall	1	Added an ok 3-star about as good as last years RS	C
K	C	Last year they signed a Power kicker who in his sophomore year is already just about the best option they have (there's a RS SO a bit better than him but it's just the 2 of them). Both players are pretty young though	1	Adding a 2 star non-development player feels a little wasteful considering the two better options with only 1 less year of eligibility.	C-
OG	C	Very empty in here as well. Senior B overall = meh. RS SO B+ overall is actually pretty good, but there's only 3 total players on roster and last year's signee didn't really progress as PSU would've liked	2	Adding a pair of B potential guards (from out of state to boot) who are just 2 stars with B potential is not a solution for this room .This is a bit of a weak spot on the roster (although they have a ton of OTs to kick inside so it probably won't show)	D+
OLB	B-	The upperclassmen are booty, but that hardly matters when one side will be manned by last years 5 star signee Hisashi Rudock. Man is a coverage beast and they were able to get him a redshirt so they can go 4 years only worrying about one side at OLB while he locks the other down	2	Neither of these guys are anywhere close to Rudock but they are much better than DeVante, so it's at least a floor raising kind of class	C
OT	B+	Lots and lots of options here. They are pretty much all run blockers, and the A overall RS SO leads the way with a stranglehold on one side. The other side will be filled with another 5-star signee from last year: Darius Mauer who also took a redshirt and almost hit A- overall. The B+ senior is a prime candidate to kick in this year and if they can share OG/OT they have fine depth	1	With so much talent they only pursued one player and got him: OT Shawn Johnson from Glenelg, MD. Rocket had a personal connection with this kid and pulled out all the stops for the top-5 prospect as they stack another 5-star on the roster. They actually now have too many A overall / 5-star players to start all of them which is a terrible, terrible problem to have I'm sure	A
P	C-	meh, average 3 star here, doesn't move the needle either way	1	Signed another average 3 star but probably could have waited a year. At least he's a local kid	C
QB	C-	Yikes, all that talent and nobody to actually drive. They have 3 seniors on the roster and yet the highest overall is a B. They have a junior B- scrambler which isn't exactly a better option either. Last year they took three development prospects and none of them made a huge leap. Still searching for QBOTF	2	Added another 2 3-stars making it 5 underclassmen 3 stars who haven't demonstrated they can lead a program with the goals Penn State should have. They really need to fight to sign a program-changer next year	C-
RB	B	Much better shape here. Jordany Gilgeous-Alexander is a power back who can bust it up the guy while Chris Brooks is a RS SO with A potential and already B+ overall. Add to that Matt Van Roten who redshirted last year after being a top-3 RB prospect. Tons of options and a deep future	2	Signed an average 3 and bad 2 star, but Van Roten still has 4 years to play so these guys are just backups anyways	C
SS	C	Starting to empty out in this room. Senior Zone cover guy is a B+ overall which is good, but next year they'll only have one player at all (although he should be a B+ by then himself). Probably need a backup of some kind	0	Didn't sign any	D
TE	C	Last year they grabbed a good 4 star vertical threat and redshirted him. He didn't progress much though and I'm sure they wanted better than a C+ as TE2	1	Added another 2 star, so this room will be not so good next year imo	D+
WR	C+	They have an A overall Red Zone threat leading this gropu, and then a B+ junior at the WR2 slot. The depth falls off fast from thre though and last years blue chip possession signee should see plenty of targets (although the other 3 signees need more time in the oven to cook)	2	Added an average 3-star and also the player I was DESPERATE to sign. I wanted Brien Walker so bad who is a top-5 speed WR and should immediately walk in as a starter who can stretch the field and add a deep threat component. I'm still mad he went to PSU along with the other 3 top-5 prospects but it can't be helped, they'll be very good	A

 

 

Penn State has signed what, 6 5-stars in the last 2 cycles? They are going to have a bunch of extremely loaded position groups. Of course this is balanced out by the fact that there are going to be a lot of rooms that are just average. I think they did a good job of prioritizing who to sign as there are only 2-3 really subpar positions on the roster. Unfortunately QB is one of those and it is probably the most important / visible so the teams overall success may not reflect the amount of first rounders they have. Extra props to them though for focusing so much on local players (although 3 of the top-5 players in the country being in your home state is pretty damn lucky). This is for sure one of the best rosters in the B1G but a hair short at key positions for being a natty contender yet

 

 

Class Grade: A-

[npklemm]

Wouldn't mind a review of Ball State's class if you have time

[Piercewise1]

"It's a tough balance grading this class because last year's signees were just so bad in general."

 

Yup. AI class was absolute trash other than Looney and the punter, and the roster is packed with RB/FB talent that I will probably re-appropriate to other positions. Hopefully we gain the ability to cut players so these 1-stars don't cost me future scholarships.

 

Other than my brain fart about not prioritizing WRs (and my utter bad luck with OLBs) I think it's a good class. But I agree that it's a lot of "floor-raising" players, with a few potential stars at the top.

 

Great article!

[cultur3]

I didn’t get to set the redshirts but I see what you’re saying. Redshirting 1 stars makes me wanna puke

[Rocketcan]

I guess we need a QB...