Penn State coach James Franklin reveals position switch for Class of 2022 signee Cristian Driver
Penn State plans to change a Class of 2022 signee’s position moving forward, head coach James Franklin confirmed on Wednesday night.
Former four-star recruit Cristian Driver played both ways in high school at Liberty Christian in Flower Mound, Tex. His dad is onetime Green Bay Packers receiver Donald Driver, of course. Cristian started his time with the Lions on defense as a corner. Penn State had hoped he would be able to move to safety in 2023. However, he will play both sides of the ball for the rest of this season and then move to receiver next year.
“We recruited him with the idea that he could play offense or defense,” Franklin said. “We felt like during the recruiting process, the best spot for him was defensive back. Our plan was specifically safety. We wanted to kind of train him like [Zakee Weatley], start at corner and then transition him to safety. Working on an island on the perimeter as a corner really gave Zakee a lot of confidence when he went to safety. So, we wanted to do the same thing [with Driver]. And, he has really done some good things, but as the year’s gone on, he feels more comfortable at wide receiver.
“So, he came in and met with Taylor [Stubblefield], came in and met with Terry [Smith], and then came in and met with me. Based on some depth and some injuries, we’ve kind of said ‘OK, towards the end of this year, we’ll split time with you.’ Help you get some work and get started at wide receiver, but we still need you to know what’s going on defensively. So he’s kind of splitting time during the week. But the plan is for moving forward that he’ll be a wide receiver.”
The 2023 Penn State picture at receiver and safety
The transfer portal and NFL Draft decisions will change this in December. But, as of now, Penn State figures to have numerous scholarship players available at receiver besides Driver. Only Mitchell Tinsley must move on after this season. Parker Washington will have a stay in school or go pro decision to make. But, Malick Meiga, Harrison “Tre” Wallace, Liam Clifford, Jaden Dottin, Omari Evans, Anthony Ivey, Tyler Johnson, and Kaden Saunders are all expected back. Penn State also has two four-star Class of 2023 receiver commits in Virginia’s Carmelo Taylor and New Jersey’s Ejani Shakir.
The Lions should also be fine at safety without Driver there. Ji’Ayir Brown must move on, and Keaton Ellis could. But, at a minimum, Penn State returns Zakee Wheatley, Jaylen Reed, KJ Winston, and Mehki Flowers in its scholarship ranks and also has commitments from 2023 four-star safeties Conrad Hussey, King Mack, and DaKaari Nelson.
