The Class of 2023 will officially close down this Wednesday with the second National Letter of Intent Signing Day.
That day isn’t expected to be a busy one for James Franklin and Penn State, although they’re being forecasted to land at least one major recruit.
With that in mind, Nittany Sports Now wanted to look back and see where the Penn State coaches gave had success recruiting over the last handful of years.
Many programs consider themselves national programs, but that isn’t the case when you examine where they land the majority of their recruits from.
However that certainly isn’t the case with Penn State as the results show that they really do have a national (and beyond) recruiting base.
Over their last four recruiting classes (2020-2023), the Nittany Lions have signed 91 players. Those 91 players represent 20 states as well as Canada.
What state have they signed the most players from?
Not surprisingly, the answer to that is Pennsylvania with 26. Credit Penn State assistants Terry Smith and Ty Howie for the in-state recruiting. Smith’s territories include the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia area, while Howie takes care of the Harrisburg region.
Most Penn State Signings by State
Pennsylvania: 26
Virginia: 11
Maryland: 9
Florida: 7
Michigan: 6
New York: 4
Ohio: 4
Connecticut: 4
Texas: 3
Indiana: 2
Canada: 2
Iowa: 2
Alabama: 2
Georgia: 2
New Jersey: 1
DC: 1
Nevada: 1
Minnesota: 1
Washington: 1
Wisconsin: 1
Massachusetts: 1
A couple observations to go along with that list.
1) the number of recruits from Pennsylvania is eye-opening considering they recruit a lot of the same players with Pitt. Keep in mind, Penn State’s first two commitments for the Class of 2024 (4-star linebacker Anthony Speca and 4-star offensive lineman Cooper Cousins) are both from Pennsylvania.
2) Penn State is doing a tremendous job recruiting the talent rich DMV region.
3) Surprised that PSU haven’t pulled more players from Ohio and New Jersey. When looking at Ohio, you have to wonder the role Ohio State and to a lesser extent Cincinnati have played in that.
