FOOTBALL

PSU recruiting takes hits, pushes on

Frank Bodani

fbodani@ydr.com

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the Rose Bowl outcome.

Penn State is still on pace to bring in one of its top recruiting classes, even after potentially losing one of the nation's top talents.

James Franklin has engineered another hot recruiting start at Penn State, this time for the nationally-ranked class of 2018. But is there suddenly cause for concern after losing two key linemen?

There was a curious flurry of recruiting action around last weekend's Blue-White Game, just as coach James Franklin continues to build steam from the stunning Big Ten title and dramatic Rose Bowl loss.

The Nittany Lions picked up two impressive offensive tackle pledges.

Just as they might have lost two top Pennsylvania recruits.

Some of this group's national luster is gone after Harrisburg defensive end Micah Parsons recently backed out of his longtime verbal commitment. Parsons touted on social media how the Lions were still among his choices, but recruiting analysts say national-level prospects almost never rejoin the school from which they step away.

He has been dallying with other programs for months now, even as he appeared to be recruiting for Penn State.

Parsons recently visited Ohio State and now seems to also be considering southern schools such as Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Florida State.

"Penn State's been putting its foot down a bit with prospects for visiting other schools. They want to make sure a prospect sticks to his word," said Ryan Snyder, a recruiting analyst with Blue-White Illustrated. "And that gave (Parsons) a lot to think about."

Despite being 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, Parsons has starred on the defensive line and at linebacker, tight end and receiver in high school. He's projected to play a defensive end/linebacker role in college, at least to start.

"He's a game-changer, certainly early in his college carer," said Adam Friedman, a mid-Atlantic analyst for Rivals.com. "You can move him around and create matchup problems and destroy game plans.

"If there's really a ceiling to his talent level, it's really hard to see it. The only person who can stop him is himself."

While the Lions were losing Parsons and Chris Bleich, an offensive tackle from Wyoming Valley West, they picked up commitments from Michigan's Antwan Reed and Virginia's Nana Asiedo, one of the top offensive lineman in the nation.

Friedman of Rivals called Asiedo the marquee offensive tackle recruit of Franklin's time at Penn State. He's 6-6 and 260 pounds with the frame to easily add 40 pounds, said Joe Mangano, his coach at North Stafford High.

"He's improving exponentially every time I see him," Friedman said. "He just needs to fill out his frame and learn to play with the leverage guys his size need to play with."

Of course, the Lions must not only replace Parsons, they must hold onto the rest of their elite talent, starting with Georgia quarterback Justin Fields.

For now, recruiting sites like Scout.com lists the Lions with the No. 4 recruiting class, behind Miami, LSU and Notre Dame.