UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State's recruiting staffers are working overtime this week, printing out name tags, finalizing itineraries and making sure every last detail is ironed out for the Nittany Lions' large list of recruiting visitors on Saturday.
The White Out game always means larger than usual recruiting crowds. Add in that it's a night game -- which makes it easier for prospects to attend since most aren't playing Saturday night -- and that it's a marquee game with the No. 19 Wolverines, and getting all the moving parts in place creates a logistical challenge for No. 2 Penn State. The Lions' coaches will have to make a good impression on the very impressionable prospects and their families, knowing all too well that if they don't bring their A-game for the pre-game mingling, it could come back to bite them on the recruiting trail.
"It's an organizational nightmare," James Franklin said Wednesday night after practice of arranging the recruiting aspect of this weekend. "You don't want to say no to anybody, but how do you make sure that all these kids that come have a good experience? Because here's the other deal, if they come and then you don't have the manpower to show them the attention, then it can backfire on you and I think that's where a lot of people don't understand football and staff sizes."
So yes, count Franklin among those in favor of having a larger staff size, something he's highlighted in the offseason as well. Franklin estimated that in a recruiting class that will sign roughly 25 players, the staff has to start by casting a wide net of about 250 prospects as a starting point.
"How do you manage all that when we're at the game?" Franklin said. "Who is making sure that the kid who shows up late because he got stuck in traffic and can't get into the game and is managing that issue? Or, who [is managing] the one who doesn't know where to park? It's a nightmare. That's where you see the staff sizes to manage all of that. It is a challenge. ... Or, the kid who you're recruiting who wants to bring three of his teammates and typically we can accommodate that, but this game we can't."
Given the recruiting calendar changes which bump up the calendar for official visits, meaning Penn State staffers will be doing summer recruiting camps and hosting visits at the same time -- and staffs can't hire high school coaches anymore to work camps -- Franklin said it just adds to the need for staffs to have more personnel. It certainly was a topic that was on Franklin's mind as he elaborated time and time again for the need to make football staffs bigger.
"You've just made the argument to make the staffs bigger, which I know every AD and commissioner now is like watching this video and uncomfortable with what I said, but every time you make one of these decisions and change things, there's an opposite effect as well," he said. "There are challenges with it. ... If I'm on vacation and the No. 1 quarterback in the country calls and says he wants to come to Penn State, what am I going to say, I'm on vacation now and come back in two weeks? No, I'm flying back. ... You're never really off in college football. In the pros, you're off, you're off."
"I'm not saying I have the answer," he continued. "But it's tricky."
And yes, tricky might be exactly the word used to describe balancing this recruiting effort this weekend in a 2018 class that stands at 22 members and is one of the best in the country ahead of a big-time game this weekend. It could also be the word for Franklin and Penn State's recruiting efforts in the Big Ten, as well as those against Michigan. Head-to-head recruiting popped up with some of the players we'll see on the field Saturday night, like cornerback Lavert Hill who flipped to Michigan from Penn State, kicker Quinn Nordin who did the same and defensive lineman Michael Dwumfour, as well.
Franklin said he's not too familiar with Jim Harbaugh beyond the obligatory Big Ten media days interactions and the like, but does find the man intriguing. Whether or not the Lions will take a spring break trip, like Michigan did last season to Rome, remains to be seen -- as evidenced by the price tag that comes with it, Franklin mentioned -- but he finds Harbaugh intriguing.
"I don't know him personally very well. I think he's fascinating," Franklin said. "Interesting guy. ... A lot of respect for him and his success."
UP THEIR SLEEVE
The Lions' offense surrendered 10 sacks total in the past two games and while this one likely will be won in the trenches, Franklin hinted at the Lions giving their line some help against the Wolverines' strong front seven.
"Whenever we give up more sacks in the game than we get, we didn't meet one of our objectives," he said. "We gotta run the ball better and we gotta protect better consistently. ... I think there are some things that we're doing this week that will help with that."
What could some of those things be?
Well, the Lions surrendered 14 sacks in the past three games, which ties the Lions' mark from the middle of 2015, times Franklin would prefer not to remember. In 13 games after the Lions lost to Michigan last year, they surrendered 15 sacks total. Penn State is 15-1 since they lost in Ann Arbor last September. Franklin said on Tuesday both Chasz Wright and Will Fries will play at right tackle Saturday night, as per usual.
"We all know the game of football is won and lost up front," Franklin said. "People spend a lot of time and energy in recruiting great defensive linemen -- especially guys on the edge, and we try to do the same thing, that's kind of the game of football that I've known my career, but also after getting here."
SPECIAL WEEK
There could be good news coming on the Lions' special teams improvements, at least in the kicking game since the rest of the third phase has been a strength thus far.
"I think we've had the two best days of special teams practice since we've been here," Franklin said. "I felt really good about [Tuesday's] energy and execution and we've got some new things in, so it wasn't as clean as you'd like it to be, but that's typical for a Tuesday. Just being out here and not watching the film yet I was pleased how we practiced."
QUICK HITS
• Franklin said the Lions have no special plans to watch ESPN's College GameDay while at their hotel Saturday afternoon. However, in all likelihood the Lions will catch at least some of it while they're going through their pre-game routine, which takes additional time because of the night game.
"That's for the community, that's for the students, that's for Lee Corso. That's not for us," he said. "We'll be in meetings. ... The White Out? Awesome, but our focus is on our preparation and our normal week of preparation."
• Defensive end Shareef Miller met with the media Wednesday night. His impressions of Michigan's offensive line?
"They're a big, physical offensive line," he said. "Ain't nothing we haven't seen before this year. It ain't nothing special. Obviously they're a big offensive line. That's all I can say."
Did the way things ended last season in Ann Arbor have any factor in the game this year? It's a storyline that the Lions played down several times already this week, but a lopsided beatdown still has some impact.
"Walking off, I was real embarrassed," Miller said. "It was a bad feeling. A feeling that you never want after a game."