Josh Moyer, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

State of the program: Penn State Nittany Lions

With spring practice officially underway in the Big Ten, we’re taking a look at each Big Ten program, using recent performance, win-loss trends, coaching, and current and future personnel as indicators. The series will cover the East Division this week.

Up next: the Penn State Nittany Lions

2015 record: 7-6 (4-4 Big Ten)

Three-year record: 21-17

Coaching situation: James Franklin is now in his third season in Happy Valley, and he currently sits 0-6 against top-25 teams while here. He's hoping for some different results now that he has some different coaches in 2016. Franklin fired offensive coordinator John Donovan and replaced him with former Fordham head coach Joe Moorhead, who has historically used a more dual-threat-friendly, up-tempo offense. Moorhead was also instrumental in helping the Nittany Lions pick up a new offensive line coach in Matt Limegrover, whom Moorhead's father actually coached when he was younger. Both pickups are seen as obvious upgrades. The other big move on the coaching staff is linebackers coach Brent Pry moving up to defensive coordinator after Bob Shoop left for Tennessee. Pry is an absolutely solid coach, but Shoop was elite.

Roster situation: Quarterback Christian Hackenberg is gone, as are three NFL-caliber defensive linemen. But, outside of those losses, there's no one here that's truly irreplaceable. Jordan Lucas and Trevor Williams will both be missed in the secondary -- and it sure would've been nice if center Angelo Mangiro had one more year left on the line -- but this team boasts a lot of young talent. Saquon Barkley already appears to be the top running back in the conference, and he's just a sophomore. Wideouts DaeSean Hamilton and Chris Godwin have already turned in first-team All-B1G seasons. The starting corps of linebackers is all experienced. And there are plenty of potential breakouts -- such as cornerback John Reid, defensive end Torrence Brown, wideout Juwan Johnson -- that are still underclassmen.

Recruiting situation: If there's one thing that Penn State fans have to be happy about, it's the recruiting situation. The Nittany Lions have now signed four straight top-25 classes, including the nation's No. 18 class this past season. Penn State's headliner was defensive end Shane Simmons, the 14th overall prospect in the nation, but he was joined by plenty of other firepower. Franklin inked eight ESPN 300 prospects in all, and several are poised to contribute immediately. Offensive linemen Connor McGovern and Michal Menet have the ability to become part of the rotation this season, and running back Miles Sanders is good enough to have an impact as a complementary back to Barkley.

Trajectory: Up. If Franklin and Penn State can get past 2016, then it should be smooth sailing. There are only about a dozen seniors on this roster, and there are very few key senior starters. (Linebackers Nyeem Wartman-White and Brandon Bell are among the only ones.) This roster is absolutely loaded with talented underclassmen, and Franklin won't be able to use the sanctions as an excuse for much longer. If Hackenberg's replacement -- likely QB Trace McSorley -- can find success in Moorhead's offense and this defensive line can put forth an above-average performance, this team could be dangerous.

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