If you've found yourself scrolling social media or reviewing the confirmed Penn State White Out weekend visitor list inside of our Lions Den forum and wondering how the Nittany Lions' staff could handle hosting so many recruits on a game day, you're not alone.
Hundreds of prospects and their families, from current high school seniors to freshmen, and perhaps even one or two who are younger than that, will experience firsthand the roar of 107,000 fans while also watching head coach James Franklin's team in person and seeing the Beaver Stadium recruiting lounge, team facilities at Lasch and Holuba Hall, and campus on what appears to be a perfect weather day on deck in State College.
It takes a massive effort from a small army of recruiting staffers who are led by director of player personnel Andy Frank. It's worth stopping here for a moment to point out the tireless members of the program who help him, a list that includes Kenny Sanders, Dann Kabala, Chris Mahon, Destiny Rodriguez, Caleb Taylor, Hunter Carson, and Alan Zemaitis in addition to a whole host of others who maybe do not always deal directly with recruiting but do during an event like the one that is on the horizon.
Franklin and Penn State's assistant coaches are involved in the effort too, of course. They'll spend time chatting up prospects before warmups begin and maybe even have time to catch up with some after the game, and some will shake hands and pose for a photo with the head coach on the field. It's part of the game day routine, and it's an important key to the cog, but as running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider reminded reporters during a ZOOM news conference on Thursday, one thing stands above all.
"The best recruiting is winning," Seider said. "It starts with winning the game."
BWI's confirmed visitor list currently tops 100 recruits in the classes of 2022, 2023, 2024, and even 2025, and it will continue to grow before kickoff. There's a reason why this is the one game a year when the staff actually has to turn prospects away, not because it wants to but due to the fact that space eventually runs out, even at a stadium as big as the one the Lions play in.
The prospects who do score a ticket are sure to leave wowed by the crowd and consumed by the overall environment they'll witness before, during, and after the top-25 matchup with Auburn. That's a given. The key, then, is letting all of the senses take care of that while the coaches spend some time on recruiting but puts the bulk of their energy toward ensuring the team is prepared before the game starts and ready for anything as the contest unfolds to try and send everyone -- recruits and members of Nittany Nation alike -- home with a victory from the home side.
"The atmosphere is going to be great," Seider said. "You have to make sure your priority, your focus, is on the game. You love the kids up when they get here, the atmosphere takes care of itself, but the product, the kids still want to come to a system where the product is going to be, you can sell your product, you can see the success on the field by position, as a team, and not just get caught up in. I think it's a unique thing for us at Penn State, to be able to have over 100,000 people here dressed in all white.
"The atmosphere is going to be amazing, and the kids can already get that feel, but the best way to continue a great recruiting class and finish a recruiting class is winning, and at the end of the day, that's the only thing that matters."
Penn State-Auburn kicks at 7:30 p.m. on ABC.
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