Elite 2022 Penn State Football Recruiting Class Could Cement Legacy Saturday
Penn State Football’s 2022 recruiting class was one of the highest-ranked classes in program history.
With 26 commits and three five-star players, Penn State’s 2022 class ranked behind only the heralded 2018 class during the James Franklin era in Happy Valley.
Now, three years later, the cohort of juniors and redshirt sophomores could cement their legacy at Penn State with a win over Oregon in Saturday’s Big Ten championship game.
Here is the class that could take Penn State to the next level as a program during a pivotal season for the class.
Penn State’s 2022 Recruiting Class
Penn State’s 2022 recruiting class ranked sixth in the nation, tied for the highest ranking in the James Franklin era.
Out of the 26 total members of the 2022 recruiting class, three were ranked as five-star recruits, and another 13 were ranked as four-star recruits. Three years after arriving on campus, ten of the members of Penn State’s 2022 recruiting class have started for Penn State this season, with a number of those players playing key roles for the Nittany Lions.
The class included starting quarterback Drew Allar, starting running backs, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, starting wide receiver Omari Evans, starting left tackle Drew Shelton, starting defensive ends Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis Sutton, starting defensive tackle Zane Durant, cornerback Cam Miller, swing offensive lineman JB Nelson, injured former starting safety KJ Winston, and backup quarterback (and utility gadget player) Beau Pribula.
The class has accounted for 2,943 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns, 1,887 rushing yards, 21 rushing touchdowns, 749 receiving yards, 7 receiving touchdowns, 164 total tackles, 40 tackles for a loss, and 18 sacks.
After the season, each member of Penn State’s heralded class of 2022 becomes draft-eligible, and surely some members of the class will opt to forego their senior years to head to the NFL.
With that in mind, the next two guaranteed games in the Big Ten championship and the College Football Playoff could be the last opportunities for the class of 2022 to make their mark on Penn State.
So, will the elite class of 2022 cement their legendary status among the elite classes all-time at Penn State and make the most of the opportunities in front of them over the next few games?
How the Nittany Lions Could Cement Legendary Status
Since joining the Big Ten conference in 1993, the Penn State Nittany Lions have only won the conference four times (1994, 2005, 2008, 2016). Despite winning James Franklin’s first Big Ten title in 2016, the Nittany Lions were not selected for the College Football Playoff that season either.
In fact, the Nittany Lions did not make the College Football Playoff in the four-team era over the past decade.
Now with the playoff expansion to 12 teams, the Nittany Lions have already punched their ticket to compete for a national championship for the first time since 1986 (1994 if you include Penn State’s non consensus national championship). Even the heralded 2018 class topped out with multiple New Year’s Six Bowl appearances, but never a shot to compete for the Big Ten title or national championship.
The 2022 class has the opportunity to add hardware to Penn State’s trophy case and add 2024 to the wall of Beaver Stadium with a win Saturday and a run in the college football playoff.
Hoisting the Big Ten championship trophy Saturday would put Allar, Singleton, Allen, Carter, and Dennis-Sutton up there in Penn State lore with Trace McSorley, Saquon Barkley, and Grant Haley from the 2016 squad.
Beaver Stadium would be forever memorialized with “2024” remembering the Nittany Lions Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff appearance (and potentially more).
To do so, Penn State will need each of its stars from the 2022 class to play a massive role Saturday to knock off the No. 1 Oregon Ducks. If Allar, Singleton, Allen, Carter, Dennis-Sutton and company all perform under the lights Saturday, the Penn State class of 2022 will forever be remembered as legends at Penn State moving forward.
MORE: Key Matchups Penn State Must Win to Knock Off Oregon in B1G Championship Game
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