On the eve of National Signing Day, James Franklin and Penn State have an awful lot to be proud of. While the dominoes will start to fall tomorrow morning with a number of big name players yet to decide which program to pledge their allegiance to, the Nittany Lions have — for the time being — secured a top five recruiting class for 2015.

Penn State filled its 2015 class today with a verbal commitment from three-star linebacker Kevin Givens, an Altoona native that flipped from Pitt after committing to the Panthers nearly a year ago. Along with tight end Nick Bowers, Givens is the second player to spurn Pitt in favor of the Nittany Lions in the last eight days.

While the letters of intent signed tomorrow will make it official, Penn State’s 2015 recruiting class features the second-most four-star recruits, trailing Southern California by one. The addition of the aforementioned Givens and Bowers, along with three-star safety John Petrishen, in the last two weeks has bolstered an already strong group with even more talent.

According to the other major recruiting sites (247Sports and Rivals), Penn State is ranked 13th in the country, due to the variance of talent evaluators and ranking systems across each platform. Scout’s team rankings use a math formula that is based on a player’s rating and his rankings (five-star being his rating, No. 1 quarterback being his ranking). Only the Top 25 players count toward the ranking, meaning teams that oversign don’t have extra commitments count toward their position. You can read more about Scout’s team ranking system here.

In just his second full season, Franklin has proved his ability to lure top in-state talent. According to Rivals, four of Penn State’s top five recruits are from Pennsylvania, with offensive linemen Sterling Jenkins and Paris Palmer having already enrolled this spring. Four-star running back Saquon Barkley, the state’s No. 2 recruit, committed to Penn State last February.

While nothing is set in stone until the fax machines start humming in Lasch Building tomorrow morning, a top-five recruiting class is an impressive accomplishment for any program, let alone one that is filling its full allotment of scholarships for the first time since 2011. In just over a year in Happy Valley, Franklin and his coaching staff have already proved they’re a force to be reckoned with.

Photo: Cameron Hart/Penn State