Thankfully spring is just around the corner, with its warm sunshine and gentle breezes. More importantly, each year the blooming flowers and frolicking baby animals bring with them one of the best weekends on the calendar: Blue/White! Now, the sounds of whistles and large men in pads slamming into each other have been echoing throughout Happy Valley for a few weeks already, and all that practicing will culminate on April 12 in James Franklin's first Spring Game as head coach of Penn State. It may just be a glorified scrimmage, but Penn Staters will take any excuse to tailgate and finally watch some football, especially after the aforementioned winter. Not to mention, the entire weekend serves as a very welcome reminder that the 2014 football season is getting closer.
So with that thought, let's get the bad news out of the way first (don't worry, there's plenty of good news to make up for it). Starting left guard and team funny man, Miles Dieffenbach, will be out the rest of spring and summer drills, and possibly the entire 2014 season, with a torn ACL. Offensive line was already the thinnest position on the team - although obviously I'm not talking about their physical stature - and this injury could be the most costly Penn State has seen since Michael Mauti went down against Indiana in 2012. Dieffenbach is a fifth year senior who was a mainstay on Bill O'Brien's lines the last two seasons. Along with mammoth left tackle Donovan Smith, Dieffenbach was expected to help bring along a small but talented group of linemen with essentially no playing experience at the college level. The offensive line is now the biggest question mark on the team, but I have confidence in O-line coach, Herb Hand (who, if you're not following on Twitter, you're doing it wrong) and Coach Franklin to figure it out. They'll most likely have to think twice about redshirting one or more of the incoming offensive line recruits. That means Noah Beh, Brendan Brosnan, Chance Sorrell, and Chasz Wright had better be quick learners. This will be a great opportunity for them to earn some quality playing time earlier than anticipated. In the meantime, get better Miles!
Now, on to better news! Spring is a time before teams have to actually prove anything on the field. Therefore, optimism is at an all time high for just about every fan base across the country. Still, I get the sense that Penn Staters are feeling even more hopeful than most, and rightfully so. When James Franklin was hired, I'll admit that I was hooked from his introductory press conference. He said all the right things, oozed energy and charisma, and had me instantly thinking, "I'm all in!" But there were skeptics and critics who pondered (quite loudly) whether it was all just an act, and if Franklin could really back up the hype. Well, although we'll have to wait a little while longer to see if he can actually coach, one area in which Franklin has proved to be worth that $4.25 million per year salary has been recruiting. I'll start by just leaving this here.
Recruiting update:
When we last left off, James Franklin and Company were sprinting ahead of every other team in the Big Ten, and on pace to compete with the biggest names in college football recruiting. They had 8 highly touted prospects lined up and were ranked 4th nationally. Well, apparently that just wasn't good enough for the human can of Red Bull. This past Tuesday, 4-star WR Brandon Polk (who supposedly runs a mind-boggling 4.36 40-yd dash!) committed to play for the Lions, bringing some of that "SEC speed" we've heard so much about with him. But Franklin wasn't done. By Saturday afternoon, 4-star OG Steven Gonzalez, long thought to be an Ohio State lean, surprised everyone by committing to the Lions as well. And then, in an embarrassing avalanche of riches, on Sunday, 4-star LB Josh Barajas, the #1 ranked player in Indiana, also made his decision to play at Penn State. The barrage of commitments shot Penn State's 2015 recruiting class up to a staggering #2 in the national rankings. That's no surprise considering, at a time when most teams are lucky to have 3 commits on board, Penn State has 11, 8 of whom are rated as 4-star! If James Franklin can coach even half as well as he recruits, all that National Championship talk might not be so far fetched after all. You can check out a complete list of the entire class here.
Alright folks, barring another influx of talent to State College, I most likely won't have another post until just before Blue/White. Maybe I'll even put together something extra special just in time for the big weekend. Either way, keep it here on the blog all offseason, don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!
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