Driver's commitment runs deeper than simply choosing a college

ALTOONA, Pa. --  Christian Driver became the 11th player to commit to the Nittany Lions since July 3, and his relationship with head coach James Franklin goes way deeper than just a commitment for the next few years. 

"When I was younger, just being around [Franklin] and my dad, he had always believed in me from a young age," Driver said.

His dad is former Green Bay Packer wide receiver Donald Driver. The older Driver played for the Packers from 1999 to 2012, and in 2005 was coached by none other than Franklin. 

That relationship, plus the way Franklin recruits and has built his program since becoming head coach of the Nittany Lions, helped lead Driver to Penn State, site of his only official visit. 

"Some of my favorite things about Penn State are how the coaches treated my family,” Driver said. “I’ve always had a great relationship with Coach Franklin and always been close with him. I’ve known him for a long time.”

Driver looks to become the latest in a long line of successful receivers to come through Penn State and get to the NFL, where his father had a lot of success playing at Lambeau Field. Should he fulfill his commitment, he will join a wide receivers group led by coach Taylor Stubblefield, as well as wideouts KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Parker Washington, to name a few.

“Coach Stubbs, I love how he works with his receivers,” Driver said. “That’s a big thing of me and Coach [Mike] Yurcich, he’s great. I remember he was one of my first receiver offers. He was at Ohio State and he came by the school and watched me run routes and ended up offering me after running routes and everything.”

His commitment makes him the 23rd pledge in the 2022 recruiting cycle, joining fellow wide receivers Kaden Saunders, Tyler Johnson and Anthony Ivey.

“I think all the kids coming in my class, those are all amazing kids with great talent and I think the next few years, we’ll actually be able to do a lot of damage at Penn State,” Driver said. “Coach Franklin does a great job recruiting the best players to put on the field and in the classroom and I think in the future we have a chance to do great things.”

The current class sits at No.2 overall in the country, according to 247Sports and the month of July is not done yet, with a few more commitments possible. 

More Penn State recruiting: 

• Four-star defensive end commit Tyreese Fearbry decommitted from Penn State Thursday. Prior to his commitment, he was being recruited heavily by Pitt, among other schools. It would not be a surprise to see him end up with the Panthers after this tweet was sent out by Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi before his decommitment.

 That could be purely coincidental, but in college athletics, anything is possible. 

• Four-star cornerback Cam Miller committed on Monday, and he's not the last defensive back expected to commit this week. Three-star safety Kevin Winston is likely to do so Saturday.