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Signing Day Superlatives

James Franklin poses with 11 signees during the Lasch Bash.
James Franklin poses with 11 signees during the Lasch Bash.

HEAD OF THE CLASS - Penn State’s Class of 2020 features eight prospects inside the Rivals250, but only one of those players, linebacker Curtis Jacobs, finished inside the Rivals100. Ranked No. 60 overall, Jacobs moved up in each of the final three updates. He was also named to the Rivals.com All-Star team of players that participated in either the Under Armour All-America Game or the All-American Bowl. More importantly, Jacobs was a leader in this class from the moment he committed. In addition to regularly talking to other prospects, he attended all of Penn State’s biggest recruiting events in the months that followed his commitment, making sure he did everything he could to help the staff recruit the best players possible.

MOST IMPRESSIVE “GET” - Jacobs is the highest-ranked player in the class, but tight end Theo Johnson is right up there when it comes to potential. At 6-5 and over 240 pounds, Johnson can really move. He ran a 4.63-second 40 at The Opening last summer and ran an equally impressive 4.28-second shuttle that same day. That’s impressive. A 35-inch vertical isn’t bad, either. There’s a reason Penn State went all out for him for over the past year-and-a-half. Now, with Johnson already on campus and working with Dwight Galt and his staff, it’ll be fun to see where he ends up on the depth chart come fall.

MOST UNDERRATED PLAYER - It’s tough for me to pick just one here, so I’m going the easy route and mentioning a few players. I think the two linebackers in this class, Tyler Elsdon and Zuriah Fisher, both made major strides this season. Fisher can really move at 250-plus pounds. He could be a solid Will linebacker or possibly even grow into an edge-rusher. His potential has to excite Brent Pry. I also watched Elsdon play twice this season. He’s a prototypical Mike linebacker. He's aggressive and loves be physical, but more importantly, he plays smart. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he contributes earlier than many fans expect. Another player I have to mention is tight end Tyler Warren. Not only did the Richmond, Va., resident keep to himself, not attending camps and never promoting his accomplishments, but his film is limited. That makes it hard for sites like Rivals to truly evaluate him. But one thing I know for sure is that Tyler Bowen and the rest of the staff have been very high on Warren for over a year now after watching him play basketball last winter. The kid can supposedly jump out of the gym. Warren also represents everything the staff wants off the field. It may take some time for him to get up to speed at tight end - he primarily played quarterback in high school - but I wouldn’t be surprised if Warren makes a major impact down the road.

EARLY IMPACT - Wide receiver Parker Washington wasn’t able to enroll early, but watch his film from this past season. It’s impressive. At 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, he’s already bigger than both Jahan Dotson and KJ Hamler. He put up some impressive numbers at The Opening, too, including a 4.13-second shuttle and a 37-inch vertical, so physically, he has what it takes to get on the field early at this level. When you add in the fact that Penn State needs not one, but a few players to step up at wide receiver, he's my pick to make an impact at some point in 2020.

TOTAL COMMITMENT - Nick Dawkins is the easy pick here. A Pennsylvania native that grew up watching the Lions, Dawkins helped the staff recruit from the moment he committed in April. As other players began joining the class, Dawkins was almost always mentioned when I asked which committed players had been speaking with them most. Cole Brevard and Golden Achumba also deserve some recognition here, but Dawkins has to be the pick this year.

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY - Unfortunately for Penn State and its fans, there were a few that got away this year. However, when you consider that linebacker Derek Wingo ultimately ended up earning five-star status, he’s the pick here. Wingo actually committed on Christmas Day 2018 and appeared to be all-in throughout the spring. However, Dan Mullen and his staff got in his ear late in the spring, and following a trip or two to Gainesville in May and June, Wingo decided that he wanted to stay close to home. Two other notables were offensive linemen Aaryn Parks and Grant Toutant. Parks was higher on Penn State’s recruiting board, but Toutant ultimately ended up signing with the Buckeyes. That always hurts.

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