Tyler Bowen | Offensive Recruiting Coordinator/Tights End Coach
Q: Getting two running backs in this class, was there any hesitation from either of them?
Bowen: Not at all. I think that goes with being very honest and up front with the guys as we're recruiting them. If you look at our needs by number, that was something we needed to address. I feel like we were able to address that in a big way. Devyn Ford and Noah Cain are two very quality backs coming into our program to go along with the guys we already had on our roster and with how Penn State has recruited running backs in the past. I think two very quality additions. No hesitation or reservations on their part. I think that goes with us just being honest, that's a big part of our recruiting process, being consistent with our messages.
Q: With two high profile running backs coming in and not being able to guarantee them a starting spot right away, how do those discussions unfold?
Bowen: We want guys who want to come in and compete. The guys we're recruiting at this level and the people we're recruiting against, obviously, you're not going anywhere to sit behind anyone, but at the same time, we're building a quality depth chart where there's going to be competition. We want guys who aspire to compete at the highest level, that's the type of athlete we're bringing in. We'll get them here, see how they work and see how the competition goes.
Q: Caedan (Wallace) was your first commitment before the Spring game. How pumped were you to get that commitment?
Bowen: We're super excited about Caedan. That's a guy that Coach [Matt] Limegrover and the staff had a relationship with even before I got here. I had a little bit of a relationship with him at the last place I was at but not to the level here. We were super fired up. You talk about a big, long athlete that's getting better and better, he gives us some flexibility along the offensive line. We see him as a guy that's athletic enough to play the offensive tackle position. We're trying to recruit guys who can play on the edge or fit a particular need on the interior. He has the potential to do both of those things, which gives us flexibility in the depth chart moving forward. Not only a high-quality player, but a high-quality character kid.
Q: Can you address the offensive linemen you're bringing in?
Bowen: I think all three of those guys are elite prospects. I think we've done something that's very hard to do at offensive line. It's yet to be seen, you'll know it four years from now. I think we've brought in as much of no-brainer prospects as we can. This is a very quality group. I can say that for the entire class, but particularly on the offensive line. Saleem Wormley is really an interior road-grater that fits our scheme well. Anthony Whigan is a skinny 300 pounds and still has a lot of room to grow. He is super-athletic. You watch him at Lackawanna [C.C.] and he played four positions on the offensive line. He's played both guards, both tackles. He provides flexibility but has the athleticism to play on the edge. Caedan Wallace, same thing, a guy that is already physically very gifted and capable of playing. He has a high ceiling and high upside. We're excited about all three of those guys.
Q: Is there anyone in the class that you think flew under the radar?
Bowen: I think the biggest thing is how the class started off. You take for granted the guys who have been committed the longest. You talk about guys like Ta'Quan [Roberson] and Caedan, when you get down the stretch you get enamored with the late decisions. It's kind of those foundational guys that were a big part of recruiting your class. They were bought into Penn State from the beginning. Those guys stand out as being consistent and never wavering and we watched the class build on their foundation.
Andy Frank | Director of Player Personnel
Q: How would you evaluate the logistics of how everything went in this recruiting cycle?
Frank: I think it was good. Obviously, there was a lot going on. We saw a ton of kids in a very short period of time. We've condensed down with the early signing period. You're used to doing everything in December and January and now you're trying to get everything done in September. I think it went smooth. There are obviously glitches on the way, but things went well.
Q: How hard is it to plan in-home visits when, maybe you have four guys say 'this is the only night that works'? What are the challenges of that and how do you overcome them?
Frank: It's interesting because of the volume we had in short period of time, we did a number of morning visits which is obviously challenging for families. Fortunately, because a lot of the kids were committed to us, of who we were going to see, they were flexible and willing to work with us. You just have to find the people that can go at certain times and work around their schedules and give them some options and try to make it work from there.
Q: In your first year with the spring official visit rule, what kind of stuff did you learn? What do you think you'll reflect on moving forward?
Frank: I think one of the things you learn is you want to get kids here on campus that might not otherwise get here. We would prefer that the kids who are local, and in our region, save their visits to later if they are able to get here on their own dime more often. From a national perspective, it makes a lot of sense to get a John Dunmore, for instance, to come in on an early official visit. He comes back on his own dime after having committed to us. That was an opportunity for us to get a kid on campus that we may not have otherwise gotten on campus.
Q: When you look at your class at this point in time, Coach Franklin said you have a little bit of wiggle room. How do you manage the wiggle room? You obviously know more of what's out there. How do you manage the expectation of the wiggle room when you're talking to kids versus the obvious reality that you have more or less wiggle room come January?
Frank: I would say things will shake themselves out here. You'll have some NFL guys that will consider that and some may do it. You may potentially have some guys that transfer. That'll kind of start to set where those numbers are at. We have some feels on some of those things. There are some guys, like Coach [Franklin] said that we feel strongly that we have a really good chance at getting. There are others that are somewhere in between. And there's probably another group of kids that we'll see where the national board is at right now and who didn't sign and who might be an option for us moving forward. We may or may not have been recruiting them all the way through the process but if we think they are someone that can play for us, we'll start that process and see what happens.
Q: What have you learned in the early signing period with one year under your belt? Has it really changed for you from a logistics standpoint getting all your visits in with James [Franklin] in December? How has it all changed?
Frank: Looking back to last year, we kind of went into with a "let's see how it happens this year," and in reality we probably have to go through two cycles to really have a good feel for how it's going to play out long term. For us, with the early signing period, we are going to try to get everybody who is committed to us signed, obviously. More than likely, the kids that have been committed for a long time are going to do that. From there, we are going to go out there and try to get the next group of guys. I like the early signing period. I think it allows you to do something in December when you can put a close to something and then move on to something else which is kind of nice.
Terry Smith | Defensive Recruiting Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach
Q: What was the process like when you're talking about a corner's versatility, but specifically Joey Porter Jr., who's dad has a wealth of knowledge. What's that like?
Smith: I tell you it's a great advantage to get a kid like Joey Porter Jr. He has an advantage that a lot of kids don't get. Every day since his season ended, he's down at the Steelers facility, so he's sitting in meetings, he's training with the trainers, the strength staff. He's running routes against Antonio Brown every single day, and he's being a sponge to so much knowledge and information. I mean it's a tremendous advantage. So for him, we feel like he's going to come in much more prepared than your average kid. But at the end of the day, he's still an 18-year-old kid that's going to have to grow and get stronger and faster and learn our way, learn our system, learn our techniques, learn what we do and try to make sense of it in our terminology.
Q: Keaton Ellis is a guy that you offered early in the process and seems to have grown quite a bit since then. How much of a different player is he then when you first offered?
Smith: Yeah, he's grown tremendously. He's grown like you want players to develop. We saw him as a youngster. He came, he ran really fast, had loose hips and competed really well. And then to look at him from that point to two years later, his senior season, completely a dominant player. You watch this film, and to me, I think he has the best corner film in a country of all corners and we watched them all. But you want that growth. I can remember going last winter to watch him play basketball, drives the lane dunks on a kid. I didn't think he had that in him, but that shows that competitive edge and next level type of competition. We're excited about him. We think he's going to be a major contributor and just excited we get him here in a few weeks.
Q: Is Hakeem Beamon on the Judge Culpepper track as someone who is going to get bigger and slide inside and become more comfortable there?
Smith: Absolutely. Hakeem, we're looking at the bump, getting him bigger, and getting him stronger. Obviously, you don't know who the immediate impact guys are, because you just never know until they get here, but we're excited to have him. We have to establish the front and I think the last four years we've been top-five in sacks and tackles for loss in the country and we want to continue that to cause that havoc
Q: Can you speak on the addition of Adisa Isaac?
Smith: In Adisa, what a specimen on the edge. Tall, long, athletic, fast. Who knows with Yetur Gross-Matos. He's a great guy and will have an opportunity to become a mentor. For Adisa to get mentored by Yetur, and then once Yetur leaves, he'll be ready to step in.
Q: Even if you don't get the commitment, and you don't sign the player and the guy goes elsewhere, is there something that you would take away?
Smith: We're becoming more relevant. We're becoming more of a household name. When we got here at the beginning five years ago, we couldn't just walk into any conversation or any high school. Now we can go anywhere coast-to-coast and be relevant. Guys know who we are. Obviously, we have guys like Saquon [Barkley] out in the pros and 35-plus more guys out there in the NFL that people recognize. So, Penn state's name is getting bigger, stronger and better.
