Penn State Football: Nittany Lions Enter Important Recruiting Stretch

In today's Penn State football news, we're managing swollen expectations, previewing the first weekend of official visits and wondering whether the Nittany Lions (finally) have turned the corner at wide receiver. Let's chat, shall we?

Official visit season begins for Penn State

Remember when official visits meant that college football coaches showered high school prodigies with attention, gift baskets and food, food food? How quaint. They're still important, but coaches had better schedule contract talks in there as well.

Penn State is hosting its first group of official visitors this weekend, notably 5-star safety Joey O'Brien, one of the top players on its uncommitted board. Penn State gets a chance to make the first impression on O'Brien, who also is scheduled to visit Clemson, Oregon, Tennessee and Notre Dame.

Crucially, Franklin excels in first impressions. He still believes that relationships matter more to recruiting than transactions. While the ratio is up for debate, Franklin's approach carries weight even in a revenue-sharing/NIL world.

Penn State likely will have to reconnect with O'Brien once he concludes his summer tour, but Franklin has the opportunity to set a relational bar other coaches must match. Maybe cash ultimately will speak louder, but Franklin's approach is important to setting a recruiting foundation.

Penn State: Offseason national champions

The Nittany Lions are winning on college football's spring think-piece circuit. Fox Sports' Joel Klatt ranked Penn State atop his post-spring top 25, as did ESPN's Mark Schlabach. Franklin also has received kudos for roster retention and the flex in hiring defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Ohio State. ESPN, in fact, said Penn State won the Big Ten's offseason.

Further, ESPN sprinkled Penn State throughout its recent college football preview, which picks the Nittany Lions to win the Big Ten and earn the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff. Most interestingly, ESPN ranked Franklin as the No. 2 coach to watch this season, behind only potential hero/trainwreck Bill Belichick at North Carolina.

"The ingredients are there," according to ESPN, "... but Franklin must now meet the highest of expectations."

That's the most intriguing component of Penn State's 2025 season. This team faces the highest expectations at Penn State since 1999, when LaVar Arrington graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, which made Penn State its preseason No. 1. For the first time in his career, Franklin has won the offseason. Now comes the hard part: delivering.

Making their case at wide receiver

In describing how Penn State successfully managed the post-Orange Bowl period, ESPN's Bill Connelly noted that the program's targeted portal work yielded dividends. Penn State signed three receivers, two of whom (Kyron Hudson and Devonte Ross) participated in spring drills.

But the most notable signee might end up being former Syracuse receiver Trebor Pena, who made 84 catches for the Orange last season and joins an offense that needs reliable targets. As Connelly wrote, "Penn State didn't add many transfers but addressed by far its biggest need at wide receiver with Pena..."

Penn State has made some tactical portal moves in recent years, notably on the defensive line, but its winning percentage at receiver is shaky. Mitchell Tinsley was a terrific addition in 2022. Julian Fleming, while good for the room, was far less productive last season. Penn State needs productivity from its receivers next season, whose success will hinge largely on their success rate with Drew Allar.

Speaking of Allar...

ESPN's preview positions Allar as a top-10 Heisman Trophy contender, saying that the quarterback "took a big jump from 2023 to last season and could make another sizable leap in his third year as the starter."

Along with his team's expectations, Franklin hasn't had a starting quarterback at Penn State with this level of national branding. Franklin and Allar are tethered for what should be a fascinating season.