When Penn State decided to move on from head coach James Franklin, it had one of the worst recruiting classes in the country.
It was a rather obvious move for Penn State to make, but losing some of the top recruits in the country certainly wasn't a good thing. Instead of it becoming a bigger issue for Penn State, new head coach Matt Campbell went out and did exactly what he had to do to ensure that Penn State is in a very good spot in the future.
It's very early in Campbell's tenure at Penn State, as he hasn't even coached a game yet.
However, he's done a really good job recruiting, and there are some ways he can continue doing so if he focuses on certain areas. According to a former Penn State player, he believes the DMV is where he needs to stay.
“The DMV is one of the most underrated recruiting hotbeds in all of America,” Landon Tengwall said, per Nittany Sports Now. “If you go back and look at the Penn State rosters over the last 10 years, you will see that a large number of the stars/contributors on those teams came from the DMV. I think Matt Campbell must find a way to recruit well in the DMV region. Non-negotiable.”
History would say that players in the DMV have come out and played well in college football, as there are multiple private schools in the area that are typically some of the best in the country. I'd also personally be heavily involved in New Jersey recruiting processes, especially up in North Jersey.
Pennsylvania is also a decent place for talent, as well as Ohio, giving him a few different places that he needs to recruit well in if he wants Penn State to be one of the best programs in the country, like they expect to be.
“But if Penn State wins in Maryland, Campbell gains a critical bridge between Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington, D.C. That is exactly the kind of recruiting map Penn State needs if it wants to become a consistent playoff-level program,” Kyle Golik of Nittany Sports Now wrote.