Even with veteran QB and great recruiting, Lions enter season unranked

ALTOONA, Pa. -- The preseason Associated Press poll was released this afternoon, and as expected, Penn State was not ranked in the top 25.

The Lions came in at No. 29.

That was part two of the bad news for the program to start the week. Because a couple of hours before the poll was released, word broke that true freshman defensive end Ken Talley surprisingly entered the transfer portal.

The Talley news had to come as a shock to anyone who closely follows recruiting. Talley, from Northeast High School in Philadelphia, was a big part of Penn State's successful 2022 recruiting class, constantly building up support with other recruits and frequently expressing his devotion to the program on social media for the past year.

We'll get back to the Talley stuff in a bit.

As for Monday's poll, the Lions weren't ranked in the top 25 of the recent preseason coaches poll, either, so getting left out of the AP poll is not a surprise.

Should it have been?

Well, on one hand, no.

But on another hand, it is disconcerting.

From a practical standpoint, there really wasn't great reason to believe Penn State would make it into the preseason top 25 after going 7-6 last season and having eight players drafted into the NFL.

The Lions were included in the top 25 by some publications, but the majority did not have them ranked.

So now we come to the question that always gets asked at this time of year: Do preseason rankings matter?

Penn State opens at Purdue in 17 days, and if the Lions win that game, they very well could be ranked in the top 25 for week two. If not, then a win at Purdue and win at Auburn, and a 3-0 Penn State team undoubtedly would be in the top 25.

So in that regard, getting snubbed in the preseason rankings doesn't matter much, and the team very much controls its own destiny with regards to rankings early in the season.

But looking at it another way, the fact that Penn State is NOT ranked should still be disappointing to fans all things considered. Because when you look at a team with all of these factors, to think that it wouldn't be in a preseason top 25 is pretty astounding:

* A fourth-year starting QB (Sean Clifford), who is in his sixth season of college football

* Ranked in the preseason top 25 each of the past five years

* A coach in James Franklin who just received a 10-year contract

* A respected new defensive coordinator (Manny DIaz) who previously was head coach at Miami

* And perhaps most importantly: From a recruiting standpoint, this is a program that finished No. 6 in the nation in recruiting last year, No. 21 in 2021, No. 15 in 2020, No. 12 in 2019 and No. 6 in 2018. So, Penn State has been bringing in excellent talent for several years, and yet the result is entering 2022 and not being considered one of the 25 best teams in the nation.

THAT right there is an example of why preseason rankings do matter! Because how can it possibly be that the program has been so good at recruiting, and yet here were are talking about a team that's not in the preseason top 25?

We don't have to do a deep dive into all the history right here to answer that question. If you're a Penn State fan reading this, you already know the primary reasons -- the offensive line has been TERRIBLE!!! -- and everything else that has gone into the 11-11 record over the past two seasons.

And again, all it might take is one victory in 17 days, and Penn State very well could be back in the top 25 -- perhaps to stay for the entire season.

Still, if you think preseason rankings don't matter at all, just ask yourself: How can a team with a fourth-year starting QB and all that recent recruiting success possibly be unranked?

AP TOP 25

Here's a look at the entire AP top 25:

1. Alabama (54 first-place votes)
2. Ohio State (6)
3. Georgia (3)
4. Clemson
5. Notre Dame
6. Texas A&M
7. Utah
8. Michigan
9. Oklahoma
10. Baylor
11. Oregon
12. Oklahoma State
13. NC State
14. USC
15. Michigan State
16. Miami
17. Pitt
18. Wisconsin
19. Arkansas
20. Kentucky
21. Ole Miss
22. Wake Forest
23. Cincinnati
24. Houston
25. BYU

Others receiving votes: Tennessee 180, Texas 164, Iowa 163, Penn State 160, LSU 55, Fresno State 32, Minnesota 31, UCF 27, Purdue 17, Mississippi State 15, Auburn 15, Kansas State 14, Florida 14, North Carolina 9, Boise State 5, Air Force 4, Appalachian State 4, UCLA 2, San Diego State 2, South Carolina 2, Utah State 2, Nebraska 1

TALLEY TO TRANSFER

Talley, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound edge rusher, was rated the No. 9 prospect in Pennsylvania for the class of 2022, and a top 300 prospect overall. A big part of his recruitment included "The Joker," which is his nickname, talking up Penn State a great deal on social media.

At one point, he even joked about decommitting, only to reveal shortly thereafter that it was a joke and that he loved Penn State.

But with less than three weeks to go before what would have been his freshman season, Talley has decided to move on and will transfer.

We still don't know many details yet about Talley's decision, and hopefully some will emerge in the coming days. Here was a young man who seemed to love the recruiting process and was clear in where he wanted to go, and yet he didn't even make it through one preseason camp before transferring.

He was such an integral part of the 2022 recruiting class and played a key role in helping attract other players to Penn State. All of which makes this development surprising.

Penn State appears to be strong at the defensive end position, both currently and with future recruits, but we don't know how much of a role that might have played in Talley's decision.

Talley had a bunch of other offers, including from Pitt, Michigan, Michigan State, Maryland, Texas A&M, Tennessee and West Virginia, so he'll very likely end up at another major program.