This has become an important time of year for recruiting in big-time college football, and Penn State head coach James Franklin has some gaps to fill in the 2020 recruiting class. JASON FARMER / TIMES SHAMROCK PHOTO
This is an important time of year for recruiting at Penn State, but Penn State’s 2020 recruiting class has taken some hits in recent days.
For the third time in four days, the Nittany Lions lost a prospect that previously had verbally committed to the program today. This time, four-star cornerback Josh Moten, who committed to Penn State in February, announced via Twitter that he would be opening his recruitment again.
Please Respect My Decision !
Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. pic.twitter.com/Wa71vQgPEh— 2 (@thareal_2) June 13, 2019
Moten joins two offensive linemen — Aaryn Parks and Grant Toutant — as members of Penn State’s heralded 2020 class who have jumped ship this week. Toutant decommitted Monday, then immediately committed to Ohio State. Parks decommitted Wednesday, for pretty much the same reasons Moten gave.
Committed too early.
Wanted to be sure.
Wanted to give other schools an opportunity to make their pitch.
Two things should also be noted here: Parks, in his announcement, said he wasn’t closing the door on Penn State. And, he and Moten are high school teammates. So while it doesn’t often work out that way, don’t bet against at least one of them doubling back to Penn State if there’s still a spot. But for now, the Nittany Lions have some holes to fill and some work to do on the recruiting trail during an important part of the year for coaches looking to stock up for the future.
“There are more guys taking summer official visits, which has changed the recruiting landscape,” head coach James Franklin said Wednesday. “Usually, this time of year would be pretty quiet, but now, everybody is going on official visits and getting attention and love all over the country. They want to be able to do those things. It has changed. There’s no doubt about it. … There are going to be ups and downs and different storylines that pop up. But, like always, we’re going to stay positive and work through it and grind through it and develop the players we have and recruit to create as much competition on the roster as we possibly can.”
Donnie Collins has been a member of The Times-Tribune sports staff for nearly 20 years and has been the Penn State football beat writer for Times-Shamrock Newspapers since 2004. The Penn State Football Blog covers Nittany Lions, Big Ten and big-time college football news from Beaver Stadium to the practice field, the bowl game to National Letter of Intent Signing Day. Contact: dcollins@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5368; @DonnieCollinsTT
