Happy holidays, Penn State fans. May it be a true season of giving for your families and friends.

And your beloved football program.

James Franklin put a bow on another top-20 recruiting class this week, the ninth time he has done so in the 10 recruiting cycles in which he’s led the Nittany Lions per the 247 Sports Composite rankings (and the 10^th time, Penn State finished 21^st). Recruiting is how he made his bones, and whether it’s getting the top players from Pennsylvania in most years or finding some under-the-radar gems in both expected and unexpected recruiting pockets around the country, Franklin has pretty consistently delivered on that front, if not at quite an elite level, and that’s with coordinators coming and going at nearly the speed of the transfer portal itself.

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One week from now the coveted Western PA prospect will sign with the Nittany Lions…but figuring out his ‘forever home’ between the white lines remains up in the air.

Sponsor: For The Blogy’s 2023 football coverage is brought to you by Happy Valley United – the NIL collective representing every Penn State student-athlete. CLICK HERE to join the team and pledge your support.

Quinton Martin — the Commonwealth’s top-rated prep prospect in the 2023-24 recruiting cycle — spurned (among others) Ohio State and Michigan when he verbally committed to Penn State way back in April. Beyond the obvious benefit of landing a promising four-star athlete, Martin’s pledge to the Nittany Lions marked another notch in James Franklin’s “Dominate The State” bedpost as Pennsylvania’s top-ranked high school football talent picked the blue and white for the third year in a row.

Sidenote: Pitt (a quick 40-minute drive from Martin’s high school) was one of the “among others” not worth mentioning, by the way.

As a junior at Belle Vernon High School, Martin was a do-it-all, Groundskeeper-Willie-One-Man-Band for the (googles Belle Vernon’s team name) Leopards, responsible for 31 of his team’s 70 total TDs (22 rushing, 6 receiving, 2 punt return, 1 INT return). The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Swiss Army knife showed off his versatility in last year’s WPIAL finals at Acrisure Stadium, treating the yinzers to a sampler platter of scores (receiving, rushing, punt return). This past Saturday, he led Belle Vernon to its second consecutive state title with 157 yards on just 13 touches.

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Our Counter to the Ridiculous Hype and Conjecture of National Signing Day, We ‘Wished Upon a 3-Star’ and Assembled a Squad of Penn State Players That Outperformed Their Modest Recruiting Profile.  

Note: For those who missed our All-3-Star and Under Offense unveiling, click HERE. 

Concept: Fair warning to all you ‘Star Chasers’ who spend mid-December and early-February decoding emoji-laced social media messages from blue-chip prep prospects…this article isn’t for you. No, this two-part series — Penn State’s All-3 Star and Under Team – is sweet nectar for the Eye Rollers and Cloud Yellers out there who scoff at Carrot Top-inspired, prop-filled televised announcement ceremonies and the exalted status bestowed upon kids who won’t step on a college football field for seven months AT THE EARLIEST. Yes, the players on this team are the exception not the rule, but their careers do remind us that none of us truly know what the heck’s in store for signees once they hit Happy Valley.

Criteria: Candidates had to be rated a 3-Star prospect or less by ONE – not all – of the major recruiting services (Scout, Rivals, 247). Because these databases only go back to 2001 this is a 21st Century Team by default, so don’t blow us up wondering why we left 1950s unheralded Ampipe High linebacker Sergei “Soot Lung” Mesarzos off the list. Your whining is just gonna get lost among the sea of boner-pill-slinging bots encamped in our comments section, anyway. So give us and your angry fingers a break.

Special consideration was given to 2-Star, 1-Star and Walk-on prospects whose Penn State football resumes compared similarly to that of a 3-Star prospect. No consideration was given to what these guys did/are doing in the NFL. Like most All-American/All-Conference teams, we went 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 5 OL (no specific position) on offense and 2 DE, 2 DT, 3 LB, 2 CB, 2 S on defense.  

The Starting Defense:

Click to Enlarge

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Our Counter to the Ridiculous Hype and Conjecture of National Signing Day, We ‘Wished Upon a 3-Star’ and Assembled a Squad of Penn State Players That Outperformed Their Modest Recruiting Profile  

Concept: Fair warning to all you ‘Star Chasers’ who spend mid-December and early-February decoding emoji-laced social media messages from blue-chip prep prospects…this article isn’t for you. No, this two-part series — Penn State’s All-3 Star and Under Team – is sweet nectar for the Eye Rollers and Cloud Yellers out there who scoff at Carrot Top-inspired, prop-filled televised announcement ceremonies and the exalted status bestowed upon kids who won’t step on a college football field for seven months AT THE EARLIEST. Yes, the players on this team are the exception not the rule, but their careers do remind us that none of us truly know what the heck’s in store for signees once they hit Happy Valley.

Criteria: Candidates had to be rated a 3-Star prospect or less by ONE – not all – of the major recruiting services (Scout, Rivals, 247). Because these databases only go back to 2001 this is a 21st Century Team by default, so don’t blow us up wondering why we left 1950s unheralded Ampipe High linebacker Sergei “Soot Lung” Mesarzos off the list. Your whining is just gonna get lost among the sea of boner-pill-slinging bots encamped in our comments section, anyway. So give us and your angry fingers a break.

Special consideration was given to 2-Star, 1-Star and Walk-on prospects whose Penn State football resumes compared similarly to that of a 3-Star prospect. No consideration was given to what these guys did/are doing in the NFL. Like most All-American/All-Conference teams, we went 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 5 OL (no specific position) on offense and 2 DE, 2 DT, 3 LB, 2 CB, 2 S on defense.  

The Starting Offense:

Click to Enlarge

Continue reading