If it wasn’t already a good enough weekend for Penn State and head coach James Franklin, things got a little better on Monday. Days after opening the season with a road win at West Virginia, four-star wide receiver [autotag]Matthew Outten[/autotag] flipped his commitment from Virginia Tech to Penn State.
Outten announced his commitment to Penn State with a post on his social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter. Outten tagged Franklin and wide receivers coach Mareques Hagans in his commitment post.
Outten is a 6-0, 210-pound wide receiver from Portsmouth, Virginia. 247Sports rates him as a four-star player, as does ESPN. On3 and Rivals each give him a three-star rating. Regardless, he is considered a talented player at a position of need for Penn State, and his decision to flip from in-state Virginia Tech to Penn State is a solid win for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State was among the team on Outten’s radar form the start of his recruiting process, so it is not shocking to see such a development later in his timeline. Outten took an unofficial visit to Penn State in November 2023 and attended a junior day event this past February. He took an official visit to Penn State in June, which was followed by official visits the next two weeks to Maryland and Virginia Tech. A couple of weeks after his official visits, Outten committed to Virginia Tech. Outten also considered Syracuse among his final candidates.
Perhaps coincidentally, Outten’s decision to back away from his Virginia Tech commitment comes two days after Virginia Tech was upset on the road at Vanderbilt and Penn State dismantled West Virginia in Morgantown. Even if it is a coincidence, it is still interesting to see these events all line up in succession.
https://twitter.com/Matthewoutten6/status/1830672442039120168
Outten is the third wide receiver in Penn State’s current Class of 2025 recruiting class. He joins Lyrick Samuel and Koby Howard, both of whom are three-star recruits according to 247Sports.
Penn State’s Class of 2025 ranked no. 16 in the nation in the updated 247Sports recruiting rankings as of Sept. 1, but the Nittany Lions moved up two spots to no. 14 following this latest commitment.
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