James Franklin on Penn State’s early enrollees, positions of need and steals

From 7 a.m. until noon, James Franklin sat in the same chair in the Lasch Building with coaches and staffers surrounding him. There was NFL Draft music, and there were former Penn State standouts like Tamba Hali, Pat Freiermuth, Paul Posluszny and Jaquan Brisker calling in to announce the future of the program.

After months of working the phones, flying across the country and hosting hundreds of prospects, Penn State revealed its 2023 recruiting class Wednesday.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Nittany Lions inked 22 recruits on the first day of the early signing period. They signed two top-50 offensive linemen and 15 four-star prospects. Penn State’s 2023 class was 12th nationally and second in the Big Ten behind only Ohio State, according to 247 Sports’ composite rankings.

Of course, Penn State entered Wednesday with 23 verbal commits. Four-star safety Conrad Hussey committed in April but recently visited Florida State and Miami. The Florida native was set to announce his destination Wednesday night. Instead, he will take more time to make his decision, according to multiple reports.

Franklin, after speaking to his new players and their families all morning and afternoon, popped over to the Beaver Stadium media room to meet with reporters both in-person and over Zoom. He discussed the highlights of the 2023 class, including early enrollees, positions of need and signing day steals.

Who will be enrolling early?

As Franklin greeted signees over video, he reminded some of them to enjoy the next 16 days — go out to dinner with family, hang out with friends, that sort of thing. Because in a couple weeks, nearly a dozen of them will be college athletes.

Franklin confirmed Penn State is expected to have 11 early enrollees.

On offense, three-star quarterback Jaxon Smolik, four-star tight ends Joey Schlaffer and Mathias Barnwell and the three offensive linemen (five-star J’ven Williams, four-star Alex Birchmeier, three-star Anthony Donkoh) are set to arrive early. Same goes for four-star linebackers Tony Rojas and Ta’Mere Robinson, four-star defensive back Elliot Washington and three-star cornerbacks Lamont Payne and Zion Tracy.

That number is up a bit from the 2022 class, which had nine early enrollees. Being around for spring ball helped running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, quarterback Drew Allar and defensive tackle Zane Durant contribute immediately. Perhaps enrolling early will provide the same edge for this crop of prospects.

Who are the steals of the draft?

Williams is the first five-star offensive lineman of Franklin’s tenure. Birchmeier and Rojas were the top two prospects in Virginia. Washington previously committed to Alabama. When you have offers from at least one of the last four national champions like this quartet did, you’re not exactly flying under the radar.

But during Penn State’s live stream from the Lasch Building, there were two players recognized by Franklin as signing day “steals”: Smolik and London Montgomery.

Smolik is an interesting story. The Iowa native was committed to Tulane before earning a late invitation to the Elite 11 Finals in July. Smolik shined alongside some of the best quarterbacks in the 2023 class.

“There was no hesitation, no hurt feelings that he’s getting called at the last minute. He jumps on a plane, gets out there and does really well,” Franklin said. Then, Smolik, who was injured his junior year, competed at a Penn State camp and earned an offer.

“Most guys don’t go through that process.”

Smolik committed in August and had a productive senior season, throwing for 1,967 yards and 19 touchdowns while leading Dowling Catholic to a 10-2 record.

“We’re really excited about him,” Franklin said. “I went and watched him play, and it was a bitter cold day in Iowa. It was raining, and watching him throw in warmups, it didn’t faze him. He’s got massive hands. He’s got a lot of traits that you look for at that position. So we’re looking forward to working with him.”

Franklin also holds Montgomery in high regard. The four-star running back from Scranton Prep missed his senior season after suffering a torn ACL during a preseason scrimmage. But Franklin was awfully impressed by Montgomery’s junior year tape, which shows him rushing for 2,356 yards and 36 touchdowns.

“Because of the injury, people haven’t had a chance to watch him in a long time and get live evaluations,” Franklin said. “As you guys know, a lot of the rankings are not just based off film, but based off live evaluations, whether it’s game evaluations or camps. He just didn’t get a lot of opportunities to do that.”

What holes do the Nittany Lions still have to fill?

Even though a lot of movement takes place on early signing day, there’s still time for Franklin and his staff to round out Penn State’s roster. Any remaining uncommitted 2023 prospects can sign in February. Plus, the Nittany Lions have been and will continue to hit the transfer portal hard.

With that in mind, Franklin identified three positions of need.

Franklin said he hopes to sign a couple more wide receivers — either in the 2023 class or, more likely, in the transfer portal — to “have competition at that position.”

The Nittany Lions signed five wideouts in the 2022 class and added four-star Carmelo Taylor, a KJ Hamler-type of deep threat, Wednesday. But with Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley moving on, expect to see an experienced receiver or two join the room.

Franklin also would like to add an offensive tackle with “positional flexibility.” Williams and Birchmeier are talented enough to make an impact as soon as spring camp. But between Olu Fashanu, Landon Tengwall, Hunter Nourzad, Sal Wormley Jr. and maybe Bryce Effner, Penn State should have enough experience, especially with a transfer, that those two can redshirt.

“Offensive tackles that are still out there, wide receivers that are still out there, we’ll be in pursuit,” Franklin said.

The other position of need is defensive tackle. Penn State signed four d-linemen, and three of them (Jameial Lyons, Joseph Mupoyi, Mason Robinson) are edge rushers. The only true interior defensive lineman in the 2023 class is three-star Tyriq Blanding.

Penn State is set to return at least six scholarship D-tackles: Durant, Hakeem Beamon, Coziah Izzard, Jordan van den Berg, Fatorma Mulbah and Kaleb Artis. Only three of them (Durant, Beamon, Izzard) played significant snaps this year. PJ Mustipher is out of eligibility, and Dvon Ellies’ future is unclear after walking on Senior Day.

Penn State recruits

Name, Previous school, Pos., Ht./Wt., Stars (Rivals)

Mega Barnwell, Riverbend (Va.), TE, 6-6/250, 4 stars

Alex Birchmeier, Broad Run (Va.), OL, 6-5/285, 4 stars

Ty Blanding, Christ The King (N.Y.), DT, 6-1/265, 3 stars

Anthony Donkoh, Lightridge (Va.), OL, 6-5/320, 3 stars

Kaveion Keys, Varina (Va.), LB, 6-2/195, 3 stars

Jameial Lyons, Roman Catholic, DE, 6-5/250, 4 stars

King Mack, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.), DB, 5-10/175, 4 stars

London Montgomery, Scranton Prep, RB, 5-10/180, 3 stars

Joseph Mupoyi, St. Thomas More (Conn.), DE, 6-5/240, 3 stars

DaKaari Nelson, Selma (Ala.), DB, 6-3/200, 4 stars

Lamont Payne Jr., Chartiers Valley, DB, 6-0/185, 4 stars

Andrew Rappleyea, Milton Academy (Mass.), TE, 6-4/235, 4 stars

Mason Robinson, McDonogh School (Md.), DE, 6-3/225, 3 stars

Ta’Mere Robinson, Brashear, LB, 6-3/230, 4 stars

Tony Rojas, Fairfax (Va.), LB, 6-2/195, 4 stars

Joey Schlaffer, Exeter Township, TE, 6-5/220, 4 stars

Jaxon Smolik, Dowling Catholic (Iowa), QB, 6-1/205, 3 stars

Carmelo Taylor, Patrick Henry (Va.), WR, 5-11/160, 3 stars

Zion Tracy, St. Thomas More (Conn.), DB, 5-11/175, 3 stars

Cam Wallace, Montgomery County (Ga.), RB, 5-9/175, 3 stars

Elliot Washington II, Venice (Fla.), DB, 5-11/190, 4 stars

J’ven Williams, Wyomissing, OL, 6-5/290, 4 stars