Penn State recruiting: Could the Nittany Lions' 2020 class be the best one ever?

The National Christian Academy, just outside of Washington, D.C., has barely 100 high school students.

Its football program isn't yet 5 years old.

And yet two of is players could help form the foundation of one of the most powerful Penn State recruiting classes in recent memory.

The best Penn State recruiting class ever?

Coach James Franklin and his staff are trying to take advantage of a most welcome opportunity: Their typical recruiting grounds are one of the richest possible in this current cycle, populated with an inordinate number of elite four- and five-star prospects.

While the Nittany Lions have been steadily trending in recruiting prowess through Franklin's five years in State College, this 2020 class provides the kind of talent to nudge the program to the next level.

And nowhere are the possibilities greater than in a swath of area running through Maryland, Washington, D.C., and into Virginia.

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The National Christian Academy is but one of the schools there boasting multiple national recruits who have built relationships with Penn State's staff over the past few years.

One of their top players, four-star cornerback Joshua Moten, verbally committed to Penn State in early February. He also was being pursued by Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Arkansas, Virginia Tech and South Carolina.

Teammate and four-star offensive tackle Aaryn Parks seems to be favoring Penn State, too.

Parks (6-foot-5, 288 pounds) is still surging onto the national scene. He was devoted to basketball until about a year ago, football coach Andre Kates said.

Now, he owns football offers from Penn State, Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma and Mississippi State.

"He's going to be a steal" for whichever college earns his services, Kates said.

"This kid is off the hook. Anyone who lined up in front of him (in the past year), he dominated."

Those two athletes are just the beginning.

Penn State earned an early April commitment from DeMatha High offensive lineman Golden Achumba, a three-star prospect from Hyattsville, Maryland.

Achumba reported offers from Florida, LSU, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Tennessee, West Virginia and others. 

The top recruit in the DMV also happens to be the nation's overall No. 1 prospect — defensive lineman Bryan Bresee of Damascus, Maryland. Though he has made several recruiting trips to Penn State, Franklin will have to beat out the likes of Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia and Alabama. 

Bresee is a "transcendent type of player along the defensive line because of the versatility he brings," said Adam Friedman, a Mid-Atlantic analyst with Rivals. "The only thing limiting him is the creativity of the defensive coordinator."

Julian Fleming is of equal importance to Penn State. He's the nation's top receiver prospect from Southern Columbia High in Pennsylvania.

"He's a must-get," Friedman said, citing his combination of talent and proximity.

How loaded is Penn State's prime recruiting territory?

Consider that the Mid-Atlantic region produced just two Rivals.com five-star talents in the class of 2019. Neither chose Penn State.

This cycle features six five-star prospects — each already with multiple recruiting visits to State College. The Mid-Atlantic and New England areas combined feature 17 players in the Rivals' Top 100, compared to just nine a year ago, according to Rivals.

"It's extremely important for Penn State to recruit this area well to keep pace with Michigan and Ohio State and catch up to Alabama, Georgia and Clemson," Friedman said.

Add that to Penn State's recent inroads into talent-rich Florida. The Lions pulled two prospects from the state in the 2018 class, three more in 2019 and already have one for 2020.

Fort Lauderdale's Derek Wingo, a four-star linebacker, is one of four 2020 prospects verbally committed to Penn State. They cannot make those pledges binding until December.

“Florida to Pennsylvania. It’s honestly a big deal now ... so they’re trying to start that wave to get guys going up there," Wingo told the the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "It’s a little cold, it’s a little bit of a change, but it’s a great place to be.

"That program is definitely on the rise."

Joining Wingo early in the 2020 class are Achumba, Moten, linebacker Curtis Jacobs (Owings Mills, Maryland), offensive lineman Grant Toutant (Warren, Michigan) and quarterback Micah Bowens (Las Vegas, Nevada).

Penn State's task will be turning this strong start into a legendary recruiting haul.

"It really is important because, obviously, the closer they are, the better chance you have to develop the type of relationships that you need," Franklin said. "We're going to have to take advantage of that. ... We've got to keep hammering through."

The five-star athletes in the Delaware-Maryland-Virginia region, often called the "DMV": Fleming, Bresee, linebacker Antoine Sampah (Woodbridge, Virginia), linebacker Mekhail Sherman (Washington, D.C.), receiver Rakim Jarrett (Washington, D.C.) and running back MarShawn Lloyd (Hyatsville, Maryland).

Running back Chris Tyree (Chester, Virginia) holds significant Penn State interest, according to his coach, and is a five-star prospect by 247Sports. 

Success with this class could allow Penn State "to take the next step" into the College Football Playoffs, said Ryan Snyder, a recruiting analyst with Blue-White Illustrated and Rivals. "Look at Micah Parsons. These guys are Micah Parsons-like players. They have potential to be elite, high (NFL) Draft pick kind of guys."

Snyder says this is the deepest talent pool in the DMV in more than a decade. Which bodes well for Penn State challenging its top recruiting efforts of the past 30 years — the Top 10 finishes by the 2006 and 2018 classes.