10 Things to Know: Four-star Cristian Driver commits to Penn State

The only thing that can stop James Franklin and his coaching staff at this point appears to be scholarship limits.

Since July 2, the Nittany Lions have added 11 verbal commitments in the Class of 2022, the latest of which came from four-star athlete Cristian Driver on Thursday.

The nation's 12th-ranked athlete and No. 229 player overall, Driver was only able to visit Penn State once, which took place in June, but that was enough for him to know that he wanted to be a Nittany Lion.

To get a better feel for Driver, we look at 10 things Penn State fans need to know.

Franklin has coached at 11 different colleges over the years, but it was the year he spent in the NFL, coaching wide receivers with the Green Bay Packers, that helped get this commitment.

At the time, Cristian was just beginning to play football, but his father, Donald Driver, was already a seven-year veteran in the NFL. Come 2005, Franklin took charge of the wide receiver room under head coach Mike Sherman, and ever since then, he and Driver have kept in contact as friends.

"As a lot of people know, he coached my dad in Green Bay as the receivers coach for a little while, and he kind of became family to me at a young age," Driver said. "So, I've always thought of him as like an uncle. He's always been a great role model to me and I think just having him on the Penn State staff as a head coach, I think that shows me a lot about his success and also the people he brings in."

Driver's father actually spoke to the Nittany Lions ahead of their Cotton Bowl victory over Memphis two years ago. Expect to see see the former Super Bowl champion much more in the years to come.

Penn State extended an offer to Driver way back in Nov. 2018. At the time, the Nittany Lions were just the third Power Five program to extend a scholarship, joining Virginia Tech and Michigan, who offered just one day prior.

Within a matter of months, it was clear that Driver was high on Penn State. He planned on attending the 2019 White Out game against Michigan that October, but ultimately had to cancel when plans fell through.

The following month, he told Sam Spiegelman, "I plan on visiting [Penn State] pretty soon to see what they have going on." Driver went on to add, "Coach Franklin used to coach my dad up in Wisconsin and we've had that relationship. He's been on me since I was a little kid and he's more like an uncle to me. Penn State is a big deal to me because of the things he's doing up there and how he's doing it. I haven't seen as much as I want to see, but I plan to see a lot more."

Of course, what Driver didn't know at the time was that a pandemic was about to shut everything down in about four months. The schools that intrigued him the most at that stage in his recruitment included Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

One of the biggest factors that determined Driver's path was which position he'll play at the next level. With so many school pursuing him as far back as his freshman year, there were a handful of programs that thought he had potential to play wide receiver, but the vast majority liked him best as a defensive player. That includes most of the top southern schools who offered.

Early on his recruitment, he checked out Texas, TCU and Oklahoma, but even then, there was a connection with Franklin and his staff that kept the Nittany Lions alive, despite him not being able to visit. Fast-forward to this year, when Driver made it clear that he really wanted to play wide receiver, and most of those southern programs started to look elsewhere since they liked his potential best on defense. Oklahoma and Texas A&M stuck around, while Michigan State and Mississippi State made late pushes to get him on campus for a visit, but in the end, Penn State was the only school he visited last month.

"I think it made a big difference for me," Driver said, following his official visit to Penn State. "With the school being so far away, I've wanted to get up there and check it out since my freshman year. I ended up having to take my time and wait, and never really expected my first time there would be my official visit. But it was amazing. I really loved the experience up there and everything like that."

Subscribe to Blue White Illustrated's YouTube channel

We discussed his top schools above, but there were plenty of other programs who showed interest at one point or another. Throughout his recruitment, Driver earned 43 scholarship offers, which is more than any other player in the Class of 2022, beating our cornerback Jordan Allen by just one.

There are too many schools to name, but some of the more notable programs included Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas A&M and USC.

This is the only real question we have moving forward. When Driver came for his official visit in June, he met exclusively with the offensive staff, predominately with wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield.

"Yeah, wide receiver was definitely the spot," Driver said, when asked which position he focused on that weekend. "I didn't meet with Coach [Brent] Pry while I was down there, their defensive coordinator. I also did not meet with Coach [Terry] Smith. They were all in the meetings and film rooms that I was in, but I did not meet with them personally. I met with just the receivers coach, Coach Stubbs, and the offensive coordinator, Coach [Mike] Yurcich.

With that said, when you look at Penn State's depth chart, you can make the case that the Nittany Lions could use him more in the defensive backfield. Driver has always been a team player first and foremost, so while he may prefer to play on offense, he's also not the type of person who will put individual preferences over the team.

"I feel like I want to follow in my dad's footsteps from the receiver point of view," Driver told us back in June. "But I think, whatever school I end up going to, a lot of them are letting me choose which [position] I feel more comfortable playing, which is great. Honestly, wherever I fit in the best, whichever position, whatever place, and it helps me get to the next level, that's all that really matters at the end of the day."

Driver was recruited largely as a safety by various colleges nationwide -- and for obvious reasons. He plays downhill with a physical style of football. He saw action across the defense -- back deep and in the box -- where he darts toward the ball carrier and is a fiery sure tackler.

Defensively, Driver is fluid in coverage and is physical when punishing pass-catchers, as well. He can cover a ton of ground sideline to sideline and is a chess piece for a defensive coordinator, especially slowing down the run. In limited evaluations in pass coverage, Driver has thrived with tight coverage in the short field and in the red zone.

Part of Penn State's appeal, however, was the ability for Driver to pursue the wide receiver position. Of course, his father did so at a Pro Bowl level for more than a decade in Green Bay. His son, splitting time between positions, has been good in spurts.

Last season, Driver flashed after the catch with good balance and the ability to break tackles and find the end zone in traffic. He was also a sharp route-runner able to separate downfield at the [Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools] level.

Driver was sure-handed and held on through traffic with good feet, excellent start-stop acceleration and even displayed some craftiness making grabs along the sidelines much like his father. As a senior, Driver is expected to devote much of his attention to receiver as he prepares for his college career in Happy Valley.

- Rivals National Analyst Sam Spiegelman

Can you recruit nationally and still dominate the state? This year, you can make the case that's exactly what Penn State has done.

With Driver now on board, the Nittany Lions hold commitments from players in 11 different states. That's very impressive when you also consider that nine players in the 2022 class are from Pennsylvania. Also, if you include the fact that Dani Dennis-Sutton is really from Delaware, plus the potential addition of Maryland native KJ Winston, who's committing on Saturday, the number of states will likely climb to 12.

Franklin and his staff have put together diverse classes in the past - they signed players from 15 different states in 2020 - but 12 would be the second-highest total that we've seen from this staff since their first full recruiting class in 2015.

Throughout 2020, Franklin stressed on multiple occasions that the pandemic, and subsequent dead period, could actually be a blessing in disguise in some ways, allowing them to bring Penn State to players via Zoom, many of whom they normally wouldn't have much of a chance with. With the potential for this class to grow even more, those comments appear to be true.

Here is Penn State's 2022 class sorted by commitment timeline:

July 25, 2020 - Four-star WR Kaden Saunders, Westerville (Ohio) Westerville South

July 28, 2020 - Four-star TE Jerry Cross, Milwaukee (Wisc.) Rufus King

Aug. 3, 2020 - Four-star QB Beau Pribula, York (Pa.) Central York

Sept. 4, 2020 - Four-star OL Drew Shelton, Downingtown (Pa.) Downingtown West

Sept. 8, 2020 - Four-star DE Ken Talley, Philadelphia (Pa.) Northeast High

Nov. 29, 2020 - Four-star WR Anthony Ivey, Manheim (Pa.) Manheim Township

Jan. 1, 2021 - Four-star ATH. Mehki Flowers, Harrisburg (Pa.) Central Dauphin East

March 8, 2021 - Three-star QB Drew Allar, Medina (Ohio) Medina High

May 1, 2021 - Three-star OL Maleek McNeil, Easthampton (Mass.) Williston Northampton

May 5, 2021 - Three-star S Tyrece Mills, Philadelphia (Pa.) Lackawanna College

May 25, 2021 - Two-star K Alex Bacchetta, Atlanta (Ga.) Westminster

June 21, 2021 - Three-star WR Tyler Johnson, Ridgeway (Va.) Magna Vista

July 2, 2021 - Three-star OL JB Nelson, Pittsburgh (Pa.) Lackawanna College

July 3, 2021 - Three-star DE Keon Wylie, Philadelphia (Pa.) Imhotep Charter

July 4, 2021 - Four-star DE Tyreese Fearbry, Pittsburgh (Pa.) Perry Traditional Academy

July 4, 2021 - Four-star DE Zane Durant, Orlando (Fla.) Lake Nona

July 4, 2021 - Four-star DT Kaleb Artis, Queens (N.Y.) St. Francis Prep

July 6, 2021 - Four-star RB Nicholas Singleton, Shillington (Pa.) Governor Mifflin

July 16, 2021 - Four-star RB Kaytron Allen, Norfolk (Va.) IMG Academy (Fla.)

July 17, 2021 - Three-star CB Jordan Allen, Lafayette, (La.) Lafayette Christian Academy

July 22, 2021 - Five-star DE Dani Dennis-Sutton, Baltimore (Md.) McDonogh

July 29, 2021 - Four-star CB Cristian Driver - Argyle (Texas) Liberty Christian

Here are Penn State's 2022 commits by position:

2 — Quarterback

2 — Running Back

3 — Wide Receiver

1 — Tight End

3 — Offensive Line

5 — Defensive Line

1 — Linebacker

2 — Defensive Back

2 — Athlete

1 — Kicker

10. Here is a breakdown of the Nittany Lions commits by state (based on where they play today):

9 - Pennsylvania

3 - Florida

2 - Ohio

1 - Georgia

1 - Louisiana

1 - Massachusetts

1- Maryland

1 - New York

1 - Texas

1 - Virginia

1 - Wisconsin

*******

• Talk about this article inside The Lions Den

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue-White Illustrated

• Follow us on Twitter: @BWIonRivals, @NateBauerBWI, @RivalsSnyder, @DavidEckert98, @GregPickel, @ThomasFrankCarr

• Follow us on Instagram

• Like us on Facebook