Last Saturday might have been a lackluster game for Penn State on paper when taking on a poor UCLA team, but it was a huge weekend for the Nittany Lions in terms of recruiting.
Plenty of high-profile targets were in Happy Valley to watch Penn State stay undefeated and climb the rankings following the carnage that took place around the country last weekend.
The Nittany Lions had multiple flip targets in the 2025 cycle on campus as the coaching staff makes their final push to get some more players on board in that class before National Signing Day, but they also have their eye on future cycles with multiple priority recruits making their way into town for the game.
One of those players was in-state 2026 recruit [autotag]Jackson Ford[/autotag].
The Phoenixville native revealed he grew up a Penn State fan, but he also said he had never been to Beaver Stadium to watch a game in person before, so this trip was his first time getting to experience everything that comes from gameday.
It’s safe to say he was blown away based on what he told Ryan Snyder of BlueWhiteIllustrated, describing the atmosphere as “insane” and telling him it was one of the loudest stadiums he’s ever been in since he could barely hear the person next to him (subscription required).
Playing on both sides of the ball in high school as a tight end and defensive end, the Nittany Lions reportedly view him as a defensive prospect for them and are recruiting him as such.
Ford doesn’t have a rating by the four national recruiting services right now, but that’s not stopping Penn State from going after the 6-foot-3, 240-pounder.
His recruitment is starting to take off with 12 scholarship offers to date that are primarily from Power 4 conference schools.
He is coming off a visit to Michigan and will travel to see Rutgers this upcoming weekend, but also told Snyder that he will be back in Happy Valley for the White Out Game.