Nittany Lion offensive line coach Matt Limegrover and the rest of the coaching staff have picked up another quality commitment from Baltimore native Zachary Franks.
A 6-foot-6, 280 pound offensive tackle from Gilman, Franks attended the Lasch Bash Barbecue Saturday. After going home to discuss everything with his parents, he wasted little time in making decision, announcing his commitment Thursday afternoon.
"It's a place that felt home," said Franks. "The school has connections everywhere and it's number two in the rankings for graduating CEOs. That's something I want to do after football.
"But I've always dreamed of playing big-time college football and Penn State is it. There is a special level of excitement and energy around the program and it's something I really love and need to be a part of."
A three-star prospect, Franks visited University Park for the first time back in April for the Blue-White Game, but he had been previously speaking with head coach James Franklin and tight end coach Tyler Bowen, in addition to Limegrover. He then returned at the end of June for the Whiteout Camp and put in a strong showing, leaving campus with an offer. That also gave Franks a good feel for Limegrover's coaching style.
“It’s really easy to understand Coach Limegrover and what he’s trying to say and teach,” Franks said following his workout last month. "He would explain things one time and I pretty much got it right away. He would use different analogies to explain why you have to do something. I kept finding myself thinking, ‘yeah, that definitely makes sense. That’s a very good analogy.’
"So, for me personally, I always find analogies as a good way to learn something. It’s easier for me to connect and learn that way, so I thought that was really cool. I liked Coach Limegrover a lot.”
Over the past year, Franks has earned 30 scholarship offers. Recently, he announced a top four that included Penn State, Duke, Northwestern and Rutgers. Franks took an official visit to Northwestern in June, while Duke and Rutgers also earned unofficial visits last month.
Franks is the 13th-ranked prospect in Maryland for the Class of 2019. He's now the third offensive lineman to commit to the Nittany Lions, joining Caedan Wallace and Saleem Wormley. Overall, he's the 15th prospect to commit to Penn State's 2019 class.
With prospects like Trevor Keegan, Jakai Moore, Walter Rouse and Anthony Whigan still undecided, we believe that the Lions could still add up to two more offensive lineman in this class, although that may depend on how other positions shake out in the coming months.
Penn State now has the No.1 ranked recruiting class in the Big Ten, as the Lions jumped up to No. 11 overall in the Rivals.com Team Rankings, leaping both Michigan and Ohio State, who sit 14th and 15th overall, respectively.
Join us inside The Lions Den to discuss Franks and the rest of the Class of 2019!
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