James Franklin was seen emotionless after his first defeat this season against Ohio State. It is the eighth year that Penn State failed to pull off a victory over the Buckeyes. So far, the Nittany Lions have showcased some impressive plays on both sides and dominated their opponents. However, it looks like the cost of the loss against Ryan Day’s team wasn’t limited to the Nittany Lions’ overall and conference record this year. They could have made a recruiting fumble with the defeat.

The new development concerns five-star QB Matt Zollers, who is currently committed to Missouri. However, as we know with these commitments, they are more on the situationship side of things than real commitment until the player finally walks into the building. So, naturally, Zollers is looking around, giving other programs a chance to impress him and get his signature. Well, Matt was visiting Penn State this last weekend on one of those look-arounds. Analyst Josh Newberg shed light on the same and discussed how Franklin missed on the big player.

In the latest YouTube video of the On3 Recruits channel, Newberg discussed how Zollers’ tone would have been different if Penn State had won their recent game. “Matt Zollers is visiting Penn State now, and of course, coming out of that, he had all the right things to say. Chad Simmons of On3 spoke to him, and he said you were just there to see a game he’s locked in a great relationship with. He said everything that a five-star quarterback that’s committed to another program should say and it made me wonder: would that tone be different had Penn State won that game? Honestly, I mean.”

Zoller has developed his skills at Spring Ford High School in Royersford, Pennsylvania. The rising talent is currently ranked 49th overall and seventh among quarterbacks in the 247 Sports Composite list for the class of 2025. Newberg believes that a win for Penn State could have strengthened their chances of having him on their team. 

“I wonder if Matt Zollers was there to take the temperature of Penn State one last time because next week he’s going to be back in Columbia to see Missouri play OU and that could be the end of his recruitment. We could end up coming out of that visit and just shutting it down completely so we just got to see what this one means in context but I think a win could have the Nittany Lions a lot all,” Newberg further said.

Zollers committed to the Tigers last April, and he is currently the only quarterback who has made a firm commitment to Missouri. it looks like he is not going to ditch them. However, if he does so, it will be a major setback for the program. Let’s see how Franklin reacted to their first defeat of the season.

James Franklin addresses disappointment over loss to Ohio State

We can feel you, Penn State fans! Saturday was a tough day for Franklin and his staff. They were among very few teams that were undefeated. But who knew week 10 would come with lots of new dynamics and Ohio State would taste their first defeat? The fans were disheartened, the players were disappointed, and the head coach was frustrated.

James Franklin had no other choice but to hit the Beaver Stadium podium for his Monday press conference to discuss their recent loss. “There’s nobody that’s more disappointed than the guys in our locker room and the guys on our staff. We understand what the expectations are, and what the standards are, and we embrace those things.”

The comments clearly highlight that the entire team, from players to each member of the staff, was disturbed. And why not? Moving forward, games are going to get more tough. It will be interesting to watch how Franklin and the players convert the plays and see if they work on the things that went wrong and bounce back stronger against Washington.