All-American recruits say where Penn State facilities stack against the rest
Penn State is home to one of college football’s most iconic programs, with many of the top amenities college football has to offer. But if there is one area where head coach James Franklin has constantly stressed a need to improve during his time in Happy Valley, it is keeping the athletic facilities in top form. While Penn State’s facilities are far from scraps, the Nittany Lions can continue to strive to improve the state of the facilities if they want to continue pulling in some of the nation’s top recruits.
Last weekend’s All-American Bowl featured many of the nation’s top high school recruits, many of whom have taken time to explore all the facilities the best college football programs have to offer on the recruiting trail. And a poll of those top athletes shows Penn State has some of the better facilities in the nation, but the schools with the top offerings are pretty easy to guess.
According to a survey conducted by 247 Sports of All-American Bowl participants, the Oregon Ducks have the nation’s top facilities, which is not too surprising. The Nike influence on the school’s football and athletics program has been a major shift in the transformation of the entire Oregon brand over the past few decades, and it has been paying off. It has yet to net a national championship, but Oregon has played in a BCS national championship and a College Football Playoff national championship.
The second-place nod went to the team that just won it all on the college football gridiron, the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia has made two appearances in the College Football Playoff, including their run to the national championship in the 2021 season. Notre Dame followed Georgia and came in just ahead of Alabama. The success of Alabama football needs no further examination here, and Notre Dame has been to the playoff twice and played for a BCS national championship before that.
The top facilities go to Ohio State, which is far from surprising. The Buckeyes have invested heavily in the success of its football program over the years, and there is a reason why Ohio State has been the Big Ten’s most consistent national power in the BCS and playoff era. Michigan, who just appeared in their first College Football Playoff and won its first Big Ten championship in the championship game era of the conference, comes in two spots behind the Buckeyes, with Clemson sitting in between.
Have you noticed a trend here? All seven teams listed so far have played in at least one College Football Playoff, and most of these schools have played in multiple playoffs (Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson). So where does Penn State fit into the picture?
Tied for eighth, just on the doorstep.
Penn State received the eighth-most votes from All-American Bowl recruits, tied with Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, and LSU. Oklahoma and LSU have been to the playoff (Oklahoma doing so multiple times, and LSU catching fire once).
Per 247 Sports;
Penn State, among plenty of impressive facilities, is rightfully proud of The Louis and Mildred Lasch football building. Just a short walk from Beaver Stadium, the 89,000-square-foot building is comparable to professional athletic facilities. Housed within the Lasch building is the 13,000-square-foot weight room, massive locker room, athletic training facilities, whirlpool therapy, meeting rooms, video production suite, coaches/staff offices, a players’ lounge and the academic support center with a computer room.
It may be no coincidence that Penn State is grouped together with programs like Texas and Texas A&M, programs who have all the potential to do big things and make a playoff run but still have a few hurdles they are attempting to clear (some having more hurdles to clear than others). But this all goes back to the overall vision Franklin has been stressing all of these years.
Penn State has committed to upgrading the facilities in order to give Penn State a chance to be on the same level as the schools sitting ahead of them. Penn State’s recent contract extension with Franklin came with a commitment to further improving every aspect of the program, including facilities.
List
Penn State recruits show out in 2022 All-American Bowl
Related
Micah Parsons named a candidate for NFL Rookie of the Year
Former four-star OL Rutgers commit will visit Penn State junior day
Micah Parsons leads all linebackers in AP All-Pro voting
What are Penn State's national championship odds in 2022?
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.
