With the institution of the early signing period this year, which took place last month, most of the drama surrounding the traditional signing period has been removed. Considering that a significant majority of top recruits have already signed their letters of intent, things have mostly shaken out — although there are some big names still left on the board.

James Franklin’s staff has already secured letters of intent from 22 of the 23 members of its recruiting class which currently ranks fourth in the nation per the 247 Sports composite rankings. Six of the signees — Micah Parsons, Zack Kuntz, Jesse Luketa, Nick Tarburton, Trent Gordon, and Isaiah Humphries — enrolled early this semester and will participate in winter workouts and spring practice, giving them a head start over their freshman classmates.

Shaquon Anderson-Butts is the only member of the class yet to sign his letter of intent, but Parsons’ high school teammate is expected to do so on the traditional signing day of February 7.

Now that the class is almost full, Penn State’s coaching staff can now narrow its focus to a couple of key targets who have yet to give their commitment to a program. The two most likely candidates to round out the group appear to be offensive tackle Rasheed Walker from Waldorf, Maryland and Penn State legacy Solomon Enis, a wide receiver from Arizona. Enis is the son of former Penn State running back Curtis Enis, who played for the Nittany Lions from 1995 until 1997 before being drafted fifth overall by the Chicago Bears in 1998.

Both players are highly sought after recruits, having received four-star ratings, and both are expected to ultimately end up with the Nittany Lions.

Members of the Penn State coaching staff visited Enis at his home last month, and he also attended Penn State’s Fiesta Bowl win over Washington. Utah and Arizona have made efforts to keep the 6-foot-4 receiver closer to home, but the familial connection to Penn State should have the Nittany Lions feeling confident.

https://twitter.com/SolomonEnis/status/941138485523521537

There’s also the fact that Enis appears to have been accidentally featured in a Penn State Football promotional video.

While the Nittany Lions have been pushing hard to land Rasheed Walker’s commitment as well, Ohio State remains in the picture. The Nittany Lions are the favorites to land his signature at the moment, but Urban Meyer and his staff will push right up until signing day to convince him to come play in Columbus. In any case, Penn State fans will be waiting until the final day of the signing period to hear of Walker’s decision.

Committing on February 7th#MMC#FDD

— Rasheed Walker (@Cin5oTre3) January 9, 2018

Should things go south for Penn State in either of Enis’ or Walker’s recruitment, expect Franklin and his staff to make a late push for four-star defensive tackle Tyler Friday out of New Jersey. Friday is expected to sign with the Buckeyes come February, but a late push from Franklin’s staff could cause him to reconsider.