Things are coming down the wire before Early National Signing Day, and Penn State is doing everything they can to put some finishing touches on the 2025 class to solidify a strong group.
Ideally, the Nittany Lions will be able to sign the majority of their current commits on Dec. 4, especially since this cycle has been one of the wilder ones for the program in recent memory with so many flips and decommitments.
However, [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and his staff are full entering chaos mode of their own with multiple flip targets they are going after still seemingly in play as they host Maryland for their regular season finale on Saturday.
One of those players is going to be on campus.
Four-star quarterback and current North Carolina commit, [autotag]Bryce Baker[/autotag], is taking a trip to Happy Valley for the game this weekend following the news that the Tar Heels have decided to fire Mack Brown.
This would be an interesting addition to the class.
With there being tons of question marks surrounding their lone quarterback commit, [autotag]Bekkem Kritza[/autotag], the Nittany Lions have been searching the market to bring an addition player at that position in for this cycle.
Baker could be that guy, although it sounds like he is ready to back off from his North Carolina commitment just yet with his dad telling Steve Wiltfong of On3 that he’s still “100% committed” to that program, even with the visit to Penn State this weekend and potential trip to LSU upcoming (subscription required).
Still, this is great step for Penn State.
Baker is listed as the 93rd-best player in the class and No. 10 at his position per On3’s Industry Rankings, so adding him to their current group would be a major boost.
It will be interesting to see what comes out of this trip.
Based on the news of Brown being fired, there’s a good chance Baker doesn’t sign early and takes his recruitment all the way until the normal National Signing Day date.