By Michael GallagherShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberMost Penn State fans likely presumed the team hit rock bottom after it lost to Northwestern to fall to 3-3 and losing star quarterback Drew Allar to a season-ending ankle injury in the process.
But less than 24 hours later, the school fired head coach James Franklin and put itself on the hook for his $49 million buyout.
Fortunately for PSU, however, Franklin landed on his feet last week when he was hired as the new head coach at Virginia Tech, drastically reducing his buyout number down to just $9 million.
And while the school saved a small fortune with the Franklin fiasco, the fallout of firing the 53-year-old coach stretched far beyond the university’s check book.
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According to a recent report from Rivals, Penn State has had 19 decommitments since firing Franklin — the most of any school over the last month.
The non-exhaustive list of Penn State decommitments is below• Four-star offensive lineman Kevin Brown• Four-star wide receiver Jerquaden Guilford• Four-star quarterback Peyton Falzone• Four-star wide receiver Davion Brown• Four-star wide receiver Jahsiear Rogers• Four-star quarterback Troy Huhn• Three-star cornerback David Davis• Three-star offensive tackle Jack Fuchs• Three-star defensive lineman Isaac Chukwurah• Three-star defensive lineman Alex Haskell• Three-star defensive lineman Tavian Branch• Three-star cornerback Julian Peterson• Three-star cornerback Jaziel Hart• Three-star safety Darrell Carey• Three-star wide receiver Lavar Keys• Three-star offensive tackle Roseby Lubintus
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Arkansas is second behind Penn State with 14 decommits after firing Sam Pittman, and Oklahoma State is third on the list with 10 decommits after firing Mike Gundy. No other school has had more than three decommits after firing its head coach.
Though the Nittany Lions are seeing a mass exodus of top commits, the team still has five four-star players committed, highlighted by linebacker Terry Wiggins and safety Matt Sieg.
Penn State currently has the 38th-ranked recruiting class in the country, according to Rivals.
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