If Justin Fields leaves Georgia, should he come back to Penn State?

James Franklin and Penn State lured one 5-star recruit back into the fold after leaving.

Could they possibly do it again 18 months later?

There will be some pressure on Franklin and his staff to get back involved with quarterback Justin Fields if he does follow through with reports that he'll leave Georgia to play elsewhere.

This comes after Penn State lost a verbal commitment from 5-star linebacker Micah Parsons, only to win him back and sign him last December. Parsons went on to lead the team in tackles as a true freshman.

Now the focus is on Fields. 

No other college coach may know him better than Franklin, considering he was verbally committed to Penn State for six months. Once Fields' recruiting portfolio blew up nationally, he left the Lions in June of 2017. He eventually pledged to his home state Bulldogs.

He played impressive backup minutes this season for two-loss Georgia but would be expected to sit behind two-year starter Jake Fromm again in 2019. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Fields threw for 328 yards and rushed for 266 yards with eight total touchdowns as a freshman.

Fields also may petition the NCAA to be eligible immediately if he does leave.

"Every school in the country will be reaching out to a guy like this," said Adam Friedman, a Mid-Atlantic analyst for Rivals.com.

"What made Justin Fields so special was his accuracy, arm strength and dual threat ability. He's not a runner first, but a guy who can make a lot of plays with his feet."

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And yet the Lions are not one of the front-runners listed as a possible transfer destination. Those would be Oklahoma, Florida State and Ohio State.

The Lions do not have the same offensive coordinator and quarterback coach as when Fields was linked to them. Joe Moorhead left Penn State after the 2017 season to become the head coach at Mississippi State.

"I think it makes sense for (Fields) to come back up and meet with the staff," said Ryan Snyder of Blue-White Illustrated.

Franklin not only developed a strong relationship with Fields and his family earlier than most, that bond continued after Fields left, Snyder said.

But, "Do I think it makes sense for him to come to Penn State compared to other quarterback rooms? That doesn't make as much sense to me," Snyder said.

Penn State's quarterback competition in 2019 should be between fifth-year senior Tommy Stevens and redshirt sophomore Sean Clifford. However, the Lions also feature redshirt freshman Will Levis and are bringing in two nationally-ranked dual threat quarterbacks in Michael Johnson and Taquan Roberson — both expected to sign on Wednesday.