Tag: Kiandrea Barker

Penn State’s 2025 football commitment tracker

Penn State got an early jump on its Class of 2025. Updated commitment tracker.

Some say it’s never too early to get a jump on a recruiting class, especially if the right player is sitting there for the getting. Penn State doesn’t usually pile up commitments two years in advance, but it did get an early jump on the Class of 2025 with a January 2023 commitment from offensive tackle [autotag]Jaelyne Matthews[/autotag] from New Jersey.

And with that, the Class of 2025 was officially underway. We’re keeping track of every commitment to Penn State in the Class of 2025, and we’ll keep tabs on any player who ends up backing off a commitment if necessary.

This tracker will be updated as necessary, with the most recent update being made on April 17, 2023.

2025 four-star RB commits to Penn State

Penn State adds four-star running back for 2025 to cap Blue-White weekend.

While all eyes were on Penn State’s annual Blue-White Game this weekend, they picked up another recruiting commitment from a running back in the class of 2025. The recruiting focus has moved to the growing 2024 class, but it’s never too early to get players from younger classes locked into the program.

That was the case on Sunday when four-star running back [autotag]Kiandrea Barker[/autotag] announced his commitment to Penn State. He spent a two-day visit over the weekend and didn’t leave State College without giving his early commitment to the Nittany Lions.

Barker is a 6’0″ 185 pound prospect from Arkansas but plays high school football in Texas for The Woodlands High School. 247Sports has him ranked as the 68th player overall in his class and the number nine running back prospect. He had 11 scholarship offers from programs across the country but decided on Penn State over some notable names like Miami, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

This commitment now makes three players already locked into Penn State’s recruiting class of 2025.

Barker told On3 that he grew up idolizing former Penn State running back [autotag]Saquan Barkley[/autotag] saying, “Growing up, I watched Saquan before he got drafted, so I knew that if Penn State ever offered they would be one of my top choices.”

He continued by saying, “Penn State is a great college and they play the kind of football I like… the year that [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] had this past season, I think Penn State is where home is and who can get me to the top level of football.”

Penn State is known as “Linebacker U,” but if they continue recruiting and putting elite running backs in the NFL, that nickname might have to be updated at some point.

It’s clear that the running back position is something that the coaching staff puts an emphasis on when recruiting. Landing a player of Barker’s caliber early in his recruitment process is a huge win for the program.

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Recruiting expert casts new crystal ball for four-star teammates in Penn State’s favor

It’s early, but Penn State gets a pair of crystal ball picks for this four-star Texas high school duo.

Penn State is coming off a big recruiting weekend with a number of recruiting targets taking in the scenes at spring football practice over the weekend. And, perhaps, that played into the recruiting outlook for a couple of players who are on Penn State’s radar for the Class of 2025.

247Sports director of football recruiting Steve Wiltfong cast a pair of crystal ball predictions recently that seem to give Penn State some momentum on the recruiting trail. High school teammates [autotag]Quanell Farrakhan[/autotag] (wide receiver) and [autotag]Kiandrea Barker[/autotag] (running back) are each currently predicted to commit to Penn State by Wiltfong. Barker is a four-star recruit according to 247Sports and Farrakhan has a four-star rating from Rivals. Getting both in a package deal would be a nice recruiting victory for James Franklin and his staff. and Penn State looks to be in a favorable spot for each.

According to the updated calculations from the On3 recruiting prediction machine, Penn State has a 97.7% chance of landing a commitment from Barker and a 98.8% chance of getting a commitment from Farrakhan.

Barker previously revealed his top five schools under consideration earlier in the month, and Penn State was among them. The other schools in Barker’s top five included Mississippi Stae, Ole Miss, Miami, and Florida State.

Farrakhan released his top five schools a day later, and once again Penn State was in the top five. Other schools in Farrakhan’s top five included Florida State, Georgia, TCU, and Tennessee.

Of course, there is a long way to go in the recruiting cycle for 20235, and a lot can change during any player’s recruiting process. But it is good to see Penn State potentially making some early inroads on a couple of talented players out of Texas. The competition on the recruiting trail should be heavy for both of these players though, and judging by the top fives for each, there will be some stiff competition to come in the recruiting process.

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