Take Two: Penn State pressure, patience at Texas, Jerry Jeudy

RELATED: Colorado putting together surprising 2017 class | Analysis: Jeudy to Bama

Take Two is back this week tackling a handful of issues on the college football landscape.

Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.

Storyline: A new college football season is upon us, but the stain of the Jerry Sandusky scandal is still fresh years later and Penn State coach James Franklin addressed issues of perceived negative recruiting this week at Big Ten Media Days.

During an interview with The Reading Eagle in June, Franklin said, “The people we're competing with – Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame – this is just not something they have to deal with. Although we want to move on, those other schools are not letting us move on.”

The insinuation is that programs are using negative recruiting tactics against the Nittany Lions and that it’s another struggle stemming from the Sandusky scandal. Penn State athletics director Sandy Barbour backed Franklin’s comments with her own statements about negative recruiting in Chicago this week.

But to what end? How does Franklin publicizes negative recruiting against his team help his efforts in any way other than just getting some frustrations off his chest?

Franklin made a great point this week. The third-year Penn State coach said he and his staff have to still address issues and answer questions about which none of them are responsible for, none of them were on campus for and things that happened decades ago.

That’s true. And that’s difficult. But Franklin seemingly had a comprehensive understanding of Penn State’s ugly situation before accepting the job. It’s frustrating but –- sadly -– the Sandusky issues and questions are not going away.

First take: “In the time that I've covered James Franklin, one thing that has been pretty clear throughout is how careful he is with the words he chooses in interviews. He's precise, and even though he often will run from one topic to the next, he doesn't get his hands dirty with the types of sports-talk hullaballoo that we're now talking about. That is, until this case.

“The issue here is that Franklin is making two points. The first is that, in comparing Penn State's recruiting successes and failures to the likes of Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, those schools do not have to deal with the specter of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and its fallout. If his point is that those programs are all roughly similar in prestige and status, and then Penn State has to go above and beyond to overcome that specter, then it's well-taken. This isn't a revelation by any means. In fact, any competing school recruiting a player can frankly say, 'Hey, after everything they've been through, why would you want to go there?' and very much get its point across. But, the reality here is that Franklin and athletic director Sandy Barbour are charging that a few schools are going well beyond an intimation. In his interview with the Reading Eagle earlier this summer, Franklin merged the topics.

“Whether or not it's productive to complain about negative recruiting is hard to answer. Among the Penn State fan base, it's getting harder and harder to educate about the impact of Sandusky and how it continues to influence issues small and large within the program. It becomes problematic, though, when that intent turns into something that's perceived to be an outright accusation that specific schools are dirty recruiters. Now that it's out there, I guess some programs might think twice about the possibility of a recruit telling the press, but beyond that I struggle to see a larger impact or potential recourse for Penn State.” – Nate Bauer, BlueWhiteIllustrated.com

Second take: “If you read the quotes, he said those teams take advantage. Negative recruiting has been around as long as scholarships have been around. It happens everywhere and in every conference. He worked in the SEC at Vanderbilt, so he knows this. I’m sure he dealt with this in the SEC, and at Penn State it’s more serious but that comes with how serious the situation is. Whenever something new comes out about Sandusky, which will continue to happen, schools are going to use that against Penn State. James Franklin isn’t to blame, the recruits aren’t to blame, the players aren’t to blame, but you have to live with it. Complaining about it isn’t going to do much good.” - Farrell

Storyline: Oklahoma is crushing every other team in the Big 12 –- including Texas -– in recruiting at this point in the cycle, but Longhorns fans should not be too worried yet because coach Charlie Strong closed incredibly well last recruiting cycle and could again in the 2017 class.

It will be crucial for Texas to have a big season for Strong’s future and for the sake of the Longhorns’ recruiting class. But Strong has proven that he can close in a big way, especially by landing five-star linebacker Erick Fowler along with a handful of four- and three-stars.

The Sooners are ranked fourth nationally with 11 four-stars already in their class, six from the state of Florida, but Texas can move up quickly with a big season and another big close on National Signing Day.

First take: “My suggestion to any Longhorn fan who is at all worried about Texas’ having a ‘slow’ recruiting start compared to Oklahoma –- stop. Under Charlie Strong, Texas does the overwhelming majority of its damage late in the recruiting process. Very late. That will be the case again this year. And while Oklahoma is off to a terrific start to the 2017 class, it’s not like the Sooners have beaten Texas head-to-head on a bunch of the Longhorns' top targets.

“Texas is still very much in the race for several of the state’s top players – guys like Marvin Wilson, Walker Little, Baron Browning, Anthony Hines and even J.K. Dobbins, an Ohio State commitment. The biggest issue for the Longhorns is that they need to turn in a successful season on the field in 2016. Do that and the recruits will be beating down the doors. Struggle, as they have the past two seasons, and it’s going to be tough for Texas to close the recruiting class as well as it has in previous years under Strong.” – Jason Suchomel, Orangebloods.com

Second take: “Oklahoma is doing very well, but we saw how Charlie Strong closed last year in the state. We’re all used to the Mack Brown world of Texas, where the Longhorns rounded up all the top kids and they were all committed by June. Strong has a different approach where he wants these kids to commit when they’re ready to commit and he’s OK waiting. If I’m a Texas fan, based on what happened last year, I’m not worried. I’m worried about how things go on the field, which could impact how he closes this year, but I’m not freaking out right now.” - Farrell

Storyline: Can Jerry Jeudy be the next big-time Alabama receiver in the mold of Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley? Only time will tell but the Crimson Tide dipped back into Florida to take one of the nation’s top receivers.

The Deerfield Beach, Fla., four-star standout committed to Alabama over Florida and others on Thursday as the Crimson Tide get richer. Jeudy has had an excellent summer to separate himself from many other top receivers in this class.

Coming off another national title, Alabama continues to prove it can go anywhere in the country for top talent. It has proven talent from the Southeast, a quarterback commit from Hawaii and two five-stars (a JUCO offensive tackle and the top RB in the country) from California.

The Crimson Tide can go anywhere to get anybody and Jeudy is just another example.

First take: "Jeudy is an important target for Alabama at receiver. The numbers were low in 2016 when the staff expected to sign a great class at the position. They missed on a few key targets in the end. They have the ability in 2017 to have an outstanding receiving corp. Jeudy and Tyrell Shavers are the first to jump on board. They have an excellent shot to add DeVonta Smith when he announces his decision on Aug. 15. Alabama has had a lot success in Florida with previous players like Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry, Biletnikoff winner Amari Cooper and freshman sensation Calvin Ridley. It's not a surprise top recruits from the Sunshine State sign with the Crimson Tide. The Alabama coaching staff continues to prove they can sign top tier recruits from each region of the country, not just in the Southeast." – Andrew Bone, TideSports.com

Second take: “Florida is obviously an extremely fertile recruiting territory. You have some big-time programs that go there and live there from a recruiting standpoint. Alabama getting a guy like this could be similar to Cooper. It depends on how much commitment Jeudy has to be being great, because he can be great. Getting Vandarius Cowan and Mac Jones and Alex Leatherwood, it’s something I’d expect of Alabama. That's the No. 1 team in the country when it comes to recruiting and on-field results. It helps when you get Cooper, who spurned Miami and other teams and went to Alabama and became a superstar. It helps when you have Ridley, who spurned Miami and all the other schools and he’s already a superstar. How do you really compete against that when you’re trying to keep Jeudy home?” - Farrell