Penn State lives up to promise to 'dominate the state'

STATE COLLEGE - On Jan. 11, 2014, James Franklin made a promise.

"We are going to dominate the state," the coach said without blinking an eye.

"Dominate the state" - it's been hashtagged on Twitter and printed on T-shirts since Franklin's introductory news conference as the Nittany Lions' football coach, and, while many have overused or overblown the motto, it wasn't an empty claim.

Franklin put himself and his staff out on a limb, but, as long as there aren't any surprises today on National Signing Day, he'll have the results to back up that promise.

Now with a full allotment of scholarships after former head coach Bill O'Brien and the program worked with limited numbers during the sanction period following the Jerry Sandusky child-sex abuse scandal, Franklin and his staff's charisma and social media savvy have made securing top-notch talent look easy.

First, on a national scale.

According to Rivals.com, Penn State ranks 12th overall with its 2015 recruiting class. The last time the Nittany Lions ranked higher was their No. 6 ranking in 2006. They also were 12th in 2010.

The 2015 class includes 11 four-star recruits, second in the Big Ten behind defending national champion Ohio State. That's also more than Oregon, Auburn, Stanford and other heavyweights.

So after years of being hampered by sanctions, the Lions are hanging with the big boys of college football.

But what's even more impressive is Franklin's commitment to locking down talent in the Lions' backyard.

Of Penn State's 25 verbal commitments, 12 are from Pennsylvania, five are from New Jersey and five are from the Maryland-Virginia-Washington, D.C. region.

These areas have always been pipelines for Penn State. But after increased interest in the region from other programs (see Urban Meyer and Ohio State) and the additions of Rutgers and Maryland to the Big Ten, Franklin was able to keep those channels open. In his opening presser, Franklin followed up his claim to "dominate the state" by saying Penn State will "dominate the region." While that could be seen as a shot at the Scarlet Knights or Terrapins, little was made of the latter.

Regarding the former, Penn State and Pittsburgh have had to battle on the recruiting trail since their longtime series went dormant in 2000.

And in that regard, Penn State has blown out Pitt recently. Last week, three-star tight end Nick Bowers from Kittanning, about 50 miles from Pittsburgh, flipped his oral commitment from Pitt to Penn State. Yesterday, the Lions made it a double swoop, wooing three-star defensive tackle/linebacker Kevin Givens, of Altoona, after a yearlong oral commitment to the Panthers.

Even though Bowers and Givens aren't blue-chip talents, their switches lit up the Twitterverse. Debates - and even a few subtle shots between coaching staffs - ensued as to which program was the more attractive in-state option.

If recent recruiting is the barometer, the answer is obvious. According to ESPN's recruiting rankings, Penn State got commitments from eight of the state's top 14 players, while Pitt received only two.

Need an even more telling statistic? Among the 17 prospects who were offered scholarships by both Penn State and Pitt and chose one of them, 16 picked the Lions.

During his introductory news conference, Franklin was asked whether his commitment to dominate the state referred directly to Pitt.

"When I say Pennsylvania, and when I say Penn State, that is the whole state," Franklin responded. "We will recruit every corner of this state, every school of this state, every neighborhood of this state. And when I say recruit, not only just the student-athletes, I mean the people of the great state of Pennsylvania. We will recruit everybody, and that is with tremendous respect for the University of Pittsburgh. But we are . . . Penn State."

So far, Franklin has kept his word.

And when those signed letters of intent are faxed to the Lasch Football Building this morning, his dominance of Pennsylvania and the surrounding region will become official.