How Penn State football’s 2024 recruiting class can help it take the next step in 2025
Penn State’s 2024 season went longer than it ever has before, stretching into the middle of January. That’s pushed back the start of winter workouts, spring ball and every other aspect of the team’s calendar for the 2025 offseason.
That’s also limited some of the downtime for the players as they begin their chase for a national title. A little less time for video games, a little less time for golf, and a little less time for anything that isn’t Penn State football.
But for lineman Cooper Cousins, that isn’t such a bad thing.
“I love the game,” Cousins said during the team’s freshman media day last week. “If we were playing football year round I wouldn’t be complaining. ... I really love what I do.”
Cousins is the leader of a 2024 recruiting class that only knows what it’s like to be one of the best teams in college football — and is in position to take the Nittany Lions to the next level in 2025.
The group was not the most heralded that head coach James Franklin has brought in, ranking outside the top 10 in the country by the major recruiting services. But the class did bring in some immediate contributors that aided Penn State last season and should do even more in the next one.
And Cousins, who rotated in frequently on the interior of the offensive line, said the experience of his freshman season will only help moving forward.
“It’s been incredible playing for a championship program” he said. “I learned a lot Year 1. Just having the staff that we have, having the players of the caliber that we had, being able to pick parts of their brain was something huge for me. I definitely picked up a lot of things that I’m taking into this next season that will carry over.”
He wasn’t the only one to get those important reps on offense. Tight end Luke Reynolds was forced into a bigger role after third-string tight end Andrew Rappleyea suffered a season-ending injury in September. Despite coming into college with limited experience as a blocker — he said he blocked maybe three times as a high school senior — he quickly improved in that regard, doing enough to see the field more as the year progressed.
And he was ultimately responsible for one of the most important plays of the season, the team’s fake punt in the fourth quarter against Minnesota. He took that for a 32-yard run and a first down that helped the team seal the win.
Reynolds will be one of the tight ends tasked with replacing Tyler Warren, who won the Mackey Award, which is given to the best tight end in the country. He remains confident that he and the rest of the group will get the job done.
“He was a terrific player, and just being able to assume the same position as him and go out on the field and represent the tight end group, is something that’s gonna be really exciting to me,” Reynolds said. “We’ve got a phenomenal tight end room, phenomenal coaching staff along with it. We’re all trying to get better, we’re all pushing ourselves — very competitive room but all for good reasons. I’ve got a whole lot of confidence in everyone in that room.”
Warren isn’t the only projected top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL draft that Penn State will replace this year, and Reynolds isn’t the only 2024 signee who will have to play a role in that. Defensive end Abdul Carter’s departure will leave a large void, and in a different world, Max Granville would just be getting to Penn State as a 2025 signee with a tall task ahead of him to see the field this season.
But instead he’s heading into his second year as a Nittany Lion after reclassifying and joining the program as a member of the 2024 class, giving him more than enough time to put on weight and gain experience under Carter before the star left.
Granville’s practice reps throughout the season are part of the reason he’s heading into the offseason with added momentum.
“I got a lot of reps this season,” he said. “With the vets, they want to keep them fresh. So they usually get less reps toward the end of the season — a little bit more walk-through periods. The younger guys take a lot of that load as far as live periods go. So I got reps on reps on reps. I remember getting like six to eight reps in a row, being gassed, [defensive line coach] Deion [Barnes] being intense per usual. But it was great experience preparing me going into this offseason, knowing what to expect, and just getting more comfortable at my position.”
Granville, Reynolds and Cousins will not be the only Nittany Lions from that class to see more time in 2025. There are a litany of players heading into their second season who should see important roles.
Safety Dejuan Lane will factor after Jaylen Reed and K.J. Winston left. Wide receiver Tyseer Denmark should play an increased role now that he’ll have a full offseason on campus. Linebacker Anthony Speca will play a part in replacing Kobe King after he left for the NFL draft. And there are plenty more who can and should fill in gaps for Penn State this season.
And despite its lack of fanfare as it arrived in 2024, it could be the group that gives the Nittany Lions the final push they need to make it to the national title game.
