Fansided

National Signing Day 2018: 5 players who will make an immediate impact

By Nicholas Ian Allen

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: A view of the logo on display before the College Football Playoff National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs on January 8, 2018 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: A view of the logo on display before the College Football Playoff National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs on January 8, 2018 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – NOVEMBER 18: Detail view of a Penn State Nittany Lions football helmet held by a kneeling player before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on November 18, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. Penn State defeats Nebraska 56-44. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – NOVEMBER 18: Detail view of a Penn State Nittany Lions football helmet held by a kneeling player before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on November 18, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. Penn State defeats Nebraska 56-44. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

High School: South Brunswick; Monmouth Junction, NJ

247 Sports Composite Rankings: 8 overall, No. 1 WR

Penn State just put the finishing touches on one of the best recruiting classes in school history – and it couldn’t have come at a better time. According to calculations done by Bill Connelly of SB Nation, Penn State ranked 105th nationally in returning offensive production (51 percent), which makes the Nittany Lions the least experienced offense in the Big Ten. That low figure is practically unheard of for a team that welcomes back a quarterback, Trace McSorley, who threw for 3,570 yards last season.

The biggest question entering the spring at Penn State is who McSorley will throw to next season. The Nittany Lions must replace uber-talented running back Saquon Barkley, top receiver DaeSean Hamilton and All-Big Ten tight end Mike Gesicki, a trio that combined for over 2,000 receiving yards and 21 touchdown catches last season. That should create opportunities for early playing time for players like Zack Kuntz, Ricky Slade and elite receiver prospect Justin Shorter.

Shorter, who ranked among the top 10 overall recruits in the nation and tops among wideouts, is a 6-foot-4, 213-pound prospect with prototypical size, speed and hands for the position. He has been clocked in the 4.5-second range in the 40, as well as a 4.26 20-yard shuttle and has a respectable 34.2-inch vertical jump.

It’s unfair to compare any prospect to Julio Jones or Randy Moss, but Shorter is built in that mold and has the potential to make the same type of impact at Penn State.

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