What is on the Penn State football to-do list in May?

A new month is here for Penn State football. That means head coach James Franklin and his program have a new list of things to accomplish over the next 31 days before the busy summer camp season kicks off in June.

April was a good month for the Nittany Lions. Their average commitment rating was the third-best one in the country, according to On3. The team also finished spring practice mostly healthy and didn’t see any major defections to the transfer portal.

What will the program focus on in May? Here’s our rundown.

Coaches on the road, visitors coming to town

Penn State is unlikely to repeat its mammoth, eight commitment April on the recruiting trail in May. But, the groundwork for future pledges will be laid either way.

The spring evaluation period continues over the next four weeks. All 10 on-field assistants can be on the road Monday-Saturday until the end of the month. They can also host visitors on campus over that stretch. Unofficial visitors will mostly come on the weekend, though. Coaches cannot be on the road on Sundays, which makes Friday and Saturday a busy time to have prospects in State College.

Last cycle, plenty of the offers that went out during this period led to future commitments.

Penn State must take advantage of the Elite 11

We don’t have the full roster of quarterbacks and receivers who will be in State College for the final Elite 11 regional of the year yet. But, we will soon. And, it should be a major boon for Penn State.

State College Area High School will host the eighth of eight regional on May 21. It should bring prospects from around the Mid-Atlantic and even some from outside of it to town with hopes of punching their ticket to the Elite 11 Finals, which will be held this summer in Los Angeles. The Lions will undoubtedly host many of the recruits who are in town that day, which will help the program in the Class of 2024 and beyond. This is a big opportunity, and Penn State must maximize it.

Continue working the portal

The spring transfer portal window closed for undergraduates on Sunday. However, those who are in it will be able to take visits once their classes end over the next couple of weeks. Beyond that, players who graduate this spring can enter the portal at their leisure since grad transfers can go into the portal at any time. Thus, while we know Penn State is pushing for a few players at the moment, the list is likely to get longer in the weeks ahead. The first step, in most cases, will be setting up a visit once the program decides it wants to target a player.

Welcome Dante Cephas to campus

Former Kent State receiver Dante Cephas is finishing up his academic semester at the Mid-American Conference school. The spring semester there ends with exams May 4-10. Commencement will then be held May 11-13. After that, Cephas will be free to come to Penn State anytime. The Nittany Lions will surely want to get him to State College and with both the strength staff and his new teammates as soon as possible. Thus, Cephas’ report date is one of the top things to watch this month.

Other May odds and ends for Penn State

–Penn State currently lists two analyst positions plus a recruiting coordinator job on its website. The Lions do not need to fill all three of them by the end of the month. But, a hire for the recruiting department job should be made in May so that the person chosen is on hand for all of the camps in June.

–Will the Lions have any additional portal defections after graduation weekend? It’s something to keep an eye on.

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