Penn State may be preparing for the Big Ten championship game this week, but Wednesday was a cause to pause and celebrate the future of the program beyond this season. Wednesday marked the beginning of the early signing period in college football, and Penn State officially inked 26 members for its Class of 2026. With a recruiting class split evenly with 13 offensive players and 13 defensive players, James Franklin and his staff have managed to pull in a balanced class that will continue to sustain what the entire staff has been working to build for the next few seasons.
More than half of this recruiting class is scheduled to enroll early in January. Penn State announced 14 members of its Class of 2025 will be early enrollees, which will allow them to go through offseason workouts and conditioning and participate in spring football practices.
This recruiting class will be one of Franklin’s best overall classes at Penn State as well. A total of 23 of the 26 commits were ranked as a four-star or five-star player by On3, 247Sports, Rivals, or ESPN. The class also spread the Penn State footprint into 10 different states, including 19 from Pennsylvania or a neighboring state.
Among the top-rated recruits in the Class of 2025 are interior offensive lineman [autotag]Malachi Goodman[/autotag] from New Jersey, cornerback [autotag]Daryus Dixson[/autotag] from California, and linebacker [autotag]LaVar Arrington Jr.[/autotag] (yes, THAT LaVar Arrington).
Here is a full list of Penn State’s Class of 2025 that has been signed during the early signing period:
- DL [autotag]Randy Adirika[/autotag] (Miami, Fla.)
- OL [autotag]Owen Aliciene[/autotag] (Cheshire, Conn.)
- LB [autotag]LaVar Arrington Jr.[/autotag] (Annapolis, Md.)
- DL [autotag]Dayshaun Burnett[/autotag] (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- DL [autotag]Chaz Coleman[/autotag] (Warren, Ohio)
- RB [autotag]Jabree Coleman[/autotag] (Darby Township, Pa.)
- WR [autotag]Jeff Exinor Jr.[/autotag] (Baltimore, Md.)
- OL [autotag]Malachi Goodman[/autotag] (Bloomfield, N.J.)
- DL [autotag]Cortez Harris[/autotag] (Largo, Md.)
- RB [autotag]Tikey Hayes[/autotag] (Aliquippa, Pa.)
- TE [autotag]Matt Henderson[/autotag] (Powhatan, Va.)
- WR [autotag]Koby Howard[/autotag] (Pensacola, Fla.)
- DB [autotag]Joshua Johnson[/autotag] (Ironton, Ohio)
- DB [autotag]Jahmir Joseph[/autotag] (Nyack, N.Y.)
- DL [autotag]Yvan Kemajou[/autotag] (Burtonsville, Md.)
- TE [autotag]Brian Kortovich[/autotag] (Willoughby, Ohio)
- QB [autotag]Bekkem Kritza[/autotag] (Chandler, Ariz.)
- OL [autotag]Brady O’Hara[/autotag] (Mars, Pa.)
- WR [autotag]Matt Outten[/autotag] (Portsmouth, Va.)
- WR [autotag]Lyrick Samuel[/autotag] (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- LB [autotag]Cam Smith[/autotag] (Salem, N.J.)
- LB [autotag]Alex Tatsch[/autotag] (Latrobe, Pa.)
- DB [autotag]Braz Thomas[/autotag] (Glassboro, N.J.)
- DB [autotag]Xxavier Thomas[/autotag] (Canonsburg, Pa.)
- OL [autotag]Michael Troutman III[/autotag] (Trenton, N.J.)
The focus will now shift to the transfer portal as Penn State’s offseason roster changes could be continuing in the coming weeks amidst its Big Ten and College Football Playoff push.
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