Penn State running back commit flips to SEC program

Running back Alvin Henderson has decided to walk away from his commitment to Penn State to stay closer to home.

Penn State was riding the wave of good news when they added two new members to their 2025 recruiting class. While verbal commitments aren’t binding, it indicates that these players will likely suit up for the Nittany Lions.

However, the process is never over until a prospect officially signs a letter of intent. Until then, other schools can continue working on players with the possibility of flipping the recruit’s commitments.

That just happened to Penn State.

According to Greg Pickel of On3, [autotag]Alvin Henderson[/autotag] has flipped from the Nittany Lions to Auburn. Henderson has since confirmed his commitment update via social media.

“Auburn is home. I really appreciate Penn State and I love it up there and their coaches, but Auburn is home. It always has been,” he told Auburn Live.

Henderson is an Alabama native and it was really surprising for many in the recruiting world that he gave his commitment to the Nittany Lions in the first place. There was always a possibility that this could happen considering how much the Tigers wanted him and how hard they continued to recruit him.

In fact, Chad Simmons and Steve Wiltfong of On3 both logged their picks that Auburn would be able to flip this recruitment on Thursday following his trip back home.

Something clearly changed his mind, but those around Penn State might be taken aback based on the comments the running back made just a few days ago.

“Coach [James] Franklin and [Ja’Juan] Seider know that I am locked in and I don’t really feel like they are even worried about anything. It was a great visit from the time I got there up until I left. I really loved everything about the visit and was mainly just happy that I could get around my brothers and everyone else that’s committed, as well as a few dudes who could potentially come and play at Penn State. Me and a few others tried to do some convincing with a few other recruits,” he told BlueWhiteIllustrated after his official visit to Happy Valley last weekend.

This highlights just how quickly things can change on the recruiting trail, but it also is surprising that these comments were made when there was clearly some things going on that led to this decision.

Penn State already has two other running backs committed to them in this class, but Henderson was the highest-ranked as a four-star. Tiqwai Hayes and Kiandrea Barker are both listed as three-stars heading into their senior seasons.

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