With the early signing period on the books Penn State football’s 2022 class might be effectively completed, but that doesn’t mean James Franklin and his staff won’t be on the lookout for any additions through either the transfer portal or the regular signing period slated for early February.
The question of course is what Franklin and company might be looking for. Just weeks ago Penn State’s quarterback position looked to be in flux, but the return of Sean Clifford and the additions of Beau Pribula and Drew Allar along with the return of rising sophomore Christian Veilleux have turned a once weakness into a strength, even with the transfer of former backup Ta’Quan Roberson.
Elsewhere a relatively full running back room only added more talent with Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen signing their letters of intent. All told, Penn State’s 23-member signing class added at least one four-star prospect to nine different positions on the roster giving the Nittany Lions a fairly compete complement across the roster.
So does Penn State have needs? Yes, because a team can always get better.
“Whether it’s the second signing day or whether it’s the transfer portal I think we have some some interest,” Franklin said on Wednesday. “Depending on how some things play out, but I think we have a need on the offensive line. I think we would be interested in a wide receiver.”
Offensively, the Nittany Lions will likely be looking to improve in the trenches, the great strength of the transfer portal being the ability to find players who have spent time in a collegiate weight room rather than still fresh out of high school. Franklin and offensive line coach Phil Trautwein did that last season with the addition of Harvard offensive lineman Eric Wilson.
As for receiver, the loss of Jahan Dotson to the NFL Draft opens a fairly large production void on Penn State’s roster. That might be filled by the likes of Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith, but that will still open the need for more depth at the position even with the rising star of Malick Meiga within the program.
“And then if you talk about the defensive side of the ball,” Franklin added. “A defensive end and possibly a defensive tackle based on some things that could happen on our roster. And then obviously we’re losing some big time linebackers so linebacker, defensive line …so we’ll see how that plays out. Whether it’s the second signing day, or whether it’s the transfer portal there’s a lot of things going on; there’s a lot of moving parts right now.”
Penn State losing Temple transfer and immediate impact star Arnold Ebiketie will be a big time loss for the defensive line, although the pending return of injured defensive end Adisa Isaac could bolster that group quickly. The futures of a handful of linebackers are still up in the air, and a rotation of defensive tackles that lost PJ Mustipher to injury midway through the year would benefit from more reinforcements, even as Dvon Ellies and Coziah Izzard see their stock continue to rise within the program.
If nothing else the completion of Wednesday’s signing day was an important moment for the program as it inked one of the nation’s top recruiting classes. But as Franklin’s comments were quick to mention in their own way, recruiting never really ends, especially in the world of the transfer portal.
