ALTOONA, Pa. -- Penn State wrapped up its 2023 recruiting class on signing day Wednesday, and the Nittany Lions had a solid cycle.
They finished with the No. 13 class in the nation, according to 247Sports, and second in the Big Ten, behind only Ohio State.
OK, so, which members of Penn State's coaching staff did the best job during this recruiting cycle?
Let's take a look.
1. JA'JUAN SEIDER
Wow, he did a fantastic job! Just sensational, really.
The running backs coach ranked No. 4 overall in the country in the individual recruiter rankings, per 247Sports. He also was the top recruiter in the Big Ten.
That is some kind of impressive!
Seider finished with nine commits, including eight 4-star prospects. His top overall commit was 4-star offensive lineman Alex Birchmeier (.9755 rating on 247Sports), followed by closely by 4-star linebacker Tony Rojas (.9605) and 4-star safety King Mack (.9587).
Seider, who finished No. 22 in the recruiter rankings last year, is an invaluable member of the coaching staff, both as a recruiter and on-field coach. He's responsible for the development of star young running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, and did a terrific job in that regard this past season.
While handing out grades in my season-ending report card, I failed to give Seider his own category. But given all he did throughout the year, he absolutely deserves an A+.
I talked to Seider before the season about how recruiting has changed in the current landscape of NIL and the transfer portal. He gave an outstanding answer.
"To me, if you change who you are, and you get away from the core of who you are where people trust you, then you got no chance," Seider said. "You got to get in the door because, even if the NIL becomes a big deal, and say at Penn State we offer $2 million to a running back, Ohio State offers $2 million to a running back, we've still got to get in that conversation for that kid to pick. He becomes a free agent at that point.
"Your relationships gotta matter. The people that surround that kid gotta matter, because everybody's not in it for the money. They still want a degree, and they want to take the 40-year plan.
"So, you can't lose who you are. Your identity is who you are, what got you to this point. I've been a great recruiter because I outwork people. I build a relationship. There's a trust factor with me. I got a ton of guys I coach. I'm a coach's kid from Florida, I've been in different places where I got a lot of relationships, and you just dive into that."
2. TERRY SMITH
Another tremendously valuable member of the coaching staff, the cornerbacks coach ranked 30th in the nation among individual recruiters. That's after he was No. 18 last year.
The highly-respected coach ranked No. 5 in the Big Ten this year.
Smith landed seven commits, also getting credit for King Mack, as well as 4-star safeties DaKaari Nelson (.9320) and Elliot Washington (.9316).
3. PHIL TRAUTWEIN
The offensive line coach has done an excellent job in recruiting, and this season his unit also did a good job quieting critics and becoming a strength of the team.
Trautwein ranked 59th in the nation and ninth in the Big Ten. His four commits included Birchmeier and the top overall prospect in the class, 4-star tackle J'ven Williams (.9832).
4. TY HOWLE
The tight ends coach ranked 109th in the nation and 19th in the Big Ten. He had four commits, led by 4-star tight end Andrew Rappleyea (.9442).
5. JOHN SCOTT JR.
The defensive line coached ranked 204th in the country and 34th in the Big Ten. He had three commits, led by 4-star edge rusher Jameial Lyons (.9121).
6. ANTHONY POINDEXTER
There's a big dropoff after those first four, as no other coach on the staff ranked in the top 400 in the country.
Poindexter, the safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator, ranked 430th in the nation and 70th in the Big Ten. He had one commit, splitting DaKaari Nelson with Terry Smith.
7. MANNY DIAZ
The defensive coordinator ranked 447th in the nation and 72nd in the Big Ten. He had two commits, including splitting Rojas with Ja'Juan Seider.
8. TAYLOR STUBBLEFIELD
The wide receivers coach, who was fired last month, ranked 485th in the nation and 79th in the Big Ten. His lone commit was 4-star wider receiver Carmelo Taylor (.8969).
9. MIKE YURCICH
The offensive coordinator ranked 520th in the country and 84th in the Big Ten. His lone commit was 3-star quarterback Jaxon Smolik (.8744).
10. MARQUES HAGANS
The new wide receivers coach coach, who is replacing Stubblefield, was not credited with any recruiting commits during his final season at Virginia. Therefore, he didn't land anywhere in the national or ACC rankings.
Here's the bad news about Hagans, which would seem to indicate he's not a very good recruiter. These are his individual recruiter rankings in the ACC during his Virginia tenure:
2023: not ranked among 114 coaches listed
2022: 67th, 1 commit
2021: 111th out of 127 coaches listed, 1 commit
2020: not ranked among 112 coaches listed
2019: 75th, 3 commits
2018: not ranked among 93 coaches listed
2017: 74th, 1 commit
2016: 33rd, 3 commits
2015: 78th, 2 commits
2014: 123rd out of 124 coaches listed, 1 commit
2013: 89th, 3 commits
OK, now the good news about Hagans.
He won't be recruiting to Virginia any longer. He won't have to go into kids' living rooms and try to sell them on coming to a program that's mediocre at best and oftentimes really bad.
Hagans will have a whole lot more to sell at Penn State, so his recruiter rankings undoubtedly will improve. He's said to be a very personable guy, so that certainly will help, plus he has connections and knows the territory in Virginia.