Tag: penn state football recruiting

Class of 2026 WR Jerquaden Guilford commits to Penn State

Penn State adds another offensive player to its early Class of 2026 recruiting haul.

The Class of 2025 has largely just been introduced formally by Penn State, but the next recruiting cycle is already in full swing. Penn State capped off the week of preparing for the Big Ten championship by learning it has won a commitment from Class of 2026 wide receiver [autotag]Jerquaden Guilford[/autotag], from Indiana.

Guilford is a three-star recruit according to On3, 247Sports, and Rivals and is considered one of the top-three players overall from the state of Indiana. Guilford is a 6′-2″ 180-pound receiver who has assembled a nice collection of offers to consider. Penn State extended its offer to Guilford in late July during an unofficial visit to the campus. He also received offers from Ohio State, Miami, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Georgia, and Indiana, among others.

According to various recruiting coverage, it seems Guilford was a player wide receivers coach Marques Hagans had really taken to during the recruiting process. It does seem as though there will be some work to mold Guilford into a major contributor in the Penn State offense but he brings some good skill and talent to work with to the table and should bring some good speed to the field as well.

Of course, we are a long way from Guilford officially signing with Penn State, so he could still continue to grow and develop as a high school senior before joining the Penn State football family a year from now.

Guilford is the eighth member of Penn State’s current Class of 2026 lineup. He is the third wide receiver in the early recruiting class, joining Maryland receiver Lavar Keys and Delaware receiver Jahsiear Rogers. The class has had a big focus on offensive commitments with four-star quarterback Troy Huhn, four-star running back Messiah Mickens, and four-star offensive tackle Kevin Brown.

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Penn State adds commitment from blue-chip TE Andrew Olesh to Class of 2025

Penn State landed a major commitment from one of the nation’s top tight ends on the eve of the Big Ten championship game.

Oh, did you think Penn State was done with its signing class in the Class of 2025 the other day? Well, think again!

Penn State added one more massive piece to its recruiting class for 2025 with a major in-state commitment from four-star tight end [autotag]Andrew Olesh[/autotag]. Olesh announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions on Friday, on the eve of Penn State’s appearance in the Big Ten championship game against Oregon. Perhaps not so coincidently, Oregon was a school attempting to make a late push for Olesh’s commitment.

Olesh, a 6′-5″ and 215-pound tight end, had previously committed to Michigan but continued to go through his recruiting process by taking visits to other schools. That included Penn State, Oregon, and Notre Dame throughout November. Penn State was always in the thick of Olesh’s recruitment for the past couple of years as one of the top recruits in the state. A Penn State offer was extended to Olesh in January 2024 during an unofficial visit, but Olesh committed to Michigan, fresh off a national championship run, during an official visit over the summer. But James Franklin and his staff never gave up on keeping Olesh closer to home.

Franklin made a visit to Olesh in mid-October during a bye week on the football schedule and Olesh returned to Penn State for an unofficial visit in early November before making a trip to Notre Dame days later. Olesh visited Oregon last week.

Olesh is rated as the top player overall in Pennsylvania by 247Sports and On3. He is a consensus four-star recruit and is ranked as the no. 3 tight end in the nation by 247Sports, On3, and ESPN (Rivals ranks him as the no. 5 tight end in the country). This is obviously a big get for the Penn State staff and this recruiting class, and the performance of Tyler Warren at the position likely played some role in the recruiting process.

Warren is on his way to being a potential first-round draft pick and will carry on the recent trend of Penn State developing NFL-ready tight ends like Mike Gesicki, Pat Freiermuth, and Brenton Strange. Olesh will now be stepping in to follow that same path with the Nittany Lions.

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Penn State’s Class of 2025 is perfectly balanced, as all things should be

Penn State has signed its Class of 2025, and it’s a solid class.

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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Class of 2025 tight end Brian Kortovich flips commitment to Penn State

Penn State flipped a three-star tight end from another Big Ten program just before early signing period for Class of 2025.

With one day remaining before early National Signing Day gets underway, Penn State was able to make a late move by flipping one of their targets.

In a social media post, tight end [autotag]Brian Kortovich[/autotag] announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions. That came just two days after he decommitted from Purdue following his official visit to Happy Valley this past weekend for the finale against Maryland.

Rated as a three-star prospect in the 2025 cycle, he has been someone on Penn State’s radar for a while after he camped for them. At that time, though, there wasn’t a ton of interest from the Nittany Lions, but as things continued to progress and [autotag]Andrew Olesh[/autotag] committed to Michigan, the relationships continued to progress.

“The environment was awesome! Obviously with it being Thanksgiving weekend and the weather, the stadium wasn’t as packed as usual but it did not disappoint,” Kortovich told Sean Fitz of BlueWhiteIllustrated. “What continues to excite me is just the relationships I’ve built in one weekend whether it be with the coaches, the staff or the players.”

The Ohio native might not pop in the rankings like others Penn State have been able to land at that position in recent years, but there is a lot of optimism about what he can turn into.

As he continued to put on weight, that’s when tight ends coach [autotag]Ty Howle[/autotag] really took note and got the Nittany Lions back involved until this flip was made.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, his athletic profile reportedly grades out similarly to their past commitments, a good sign for what could come during his tenure.

What that means regarding the recruitment of Olesh isn’t clear.

Penn State could still pull off the flip, something they are pushing really hard to do, but they weren’t willing to wait around and miss out on Kortovich.

Top 100 lineman puts Penn State in his top schools list

Penn State in the running for four-star offensive lineman from North Carolina in the Class of 2026.

Penn State is going to be busy closing out their 2025 recruiting class with Early National Signing Day fast approaching on Dec. 4, but they are still busy going after players in future cycles.

So far, [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and his staff are dominating with the 2026 group.

They already have seven commits which gives them a top five ranking nationally, something that would give the Nittany Lions one of the best finished in the Franklin era if they are able to continue landing elite talents.

Penn State got one step closer to doing so with one of their top targets.

Four-star offensive lineman [autotag]Leo Delaney[/autotag] just included the Nittany Lions in his top schools list, putting them alongside Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Clemson, Wisconsin, NC State and Nebraska.

The North Carolina native told Chad Simmons of On3 that these are the programs he wants to focus on at this point, ready to learn more about them and see how he would fit and succeed. He cited relationships and culture as two of the biggest things for him, and when it comes to how he views Penn State, he is a huge fan of offensive line coach [autotag]Phil Trautwein[/autotag] and looks forward to getting onto campus for the first time (subscription required).

The 6-foot-5, 275-pound offensive lineman would be a great addition to this class with him current ranked inside the top 100 at No. 99 per On3’s Industry Rankings.

[autotag]Kevin Brown[/autotag] is the lone offensive line commit for Penn State right now, but he’s ranked as their best recruit in the class coming in at 26th overall.

Penn State makes top schools list of elite 2026 cornerback

Penn State is among the early top schools for this four-star Class of 2026 cornerback from North Carolina.

Penn State has gotten off to a hot start in the 2026 cycle as they look to continue bringing in top classes to Happy Valley so they can better compete for Big Ten titles and national championships.

Already sitting with seven commits so far, that puts them fifth in the national rankings that has them on pace for one of their best-ever finishes under [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] if they can keep it up.

One way they can do that is by going after some of the best prospects in the country, and with their sights set on elite four-star cornerback [autotag]Samari Matthews[/autotag], it seems like the interest is reciprocated.

The North Carolina native recently trimmed his list of schools down to eight, and the Nittany Lions made the cut alongside Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Clemson, Florida State, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Ranked No. 51 in the 2026 class and the fourth-best player at his position by On3’s Industry Rankings, Matthews would be a huge get for Penn State.

He told Chad Simmons of On3 that all eight programs on his list have been in constant communication with him, and when he visited each of their campuses, he has enjoyed the atmospheres and “home feeling.” The next steps for him are to continue taking visits to those schools before going on official trips and then announcing his commitment in the upcoming summer (subscription required).

Penn State could be a longshot in this race.

Out of the eight schools on his list, they have been given the seventh-worst odds to land him per On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine at 4.4%. South Carolina is the favorite at 26.2%.

Still, there is plenty of time left for them to build relationships and get him onto campus based on that timeline.

He was not able to see a game at Beaver Stadium this season, so it will be up to Franklin and the coaching staff to get him back on campus and make him feel at home.

Penn State predicted to land 2026 three-star wide receiver Jerquaden Guilford

Penn State is a rising favorite to land this three-star wide receiver in the Class of 2025.

It’s a mad dash to the finish line ahead of early National Signing Day for Penn State as they attempt to hold off some programs around the country who are interested in their own commits, while also attempting to flip some of their top targets.

2025 has been a strange cycle for the Nittany Lions with more decommitments and flips than has been seen in recent history.

However, they still are looking ahead to future classes as they try to build strong early bases, and their 2026 group could get more solidified at the wide receiver position based on this latest prediction.

Both Steve Wiltfong of On3 and Ryan Snyder of BlueWhiteIllustrated have logged picks for Penn State to land three-star [autotag]Jerquaden Guilford[/autotag] as he gets set for a visit to Happy Valley for their regular season finale against Maryland.

The 6-foot-2, 170-pounder is currently viewed as the 63rd-best player at his position by On3’s Industry Rankings, but that is subject to change as the high school year ends and prospects get set for their important spring and summer camp circuits.

Guilford said the scholarship offer he received from the Nittany Lions meant a lot to him, and based on the feedback he shared with Snyder about what the coaches told him, it sounds like he is someone the staff would love to add (subscription required).

If Penn State is able to land him, whether it’s after this weekend or at a future date, he would become the third wide receiver commit in their 2026 class, joining other fellow three-stars [autotag]Jahsiear Rogers[/autotag] and [autotag]Lavar Keys[/autotag].

That would be a huge early win for wide receivers coach Marques Hagans who continues to be under fire from Nittany Lions fans after the unit has put together back-to-back poor showings on the field and he hasn’t been able to bring in top-of-the-line recruits.

There’s a chance Hagans is able to land some of his top targets in the 2025 class before it’s all said and done, but right now, it seems like the majority of the focus for him is on 2026 and beyond.

Penn State loses key member of 2025 recruiting class after recent flip

Penn State loses four-star commitment to SEC school before early signing period

Programs around the country are counting down the days until Early National Signing Day, and for certain schools like Penn State, they have been thrust into a much busier situation than they would have liked with them trying to secure their commits and flip other targets on their board.

The Nittany Lions have multiple high-profile players there are pursuing in the 2025 class as they try to solidify another top unit in the national recruiting rankings, but as they get set for their matchup against Maryland, they were dealt some tough news.

[autotag]Jayden Woods[/autotag], the second-highest-ranked commit in their cycle, recently flipped his commitment to Florida after he had been part of Penn State’s class since June.

This came on the heels of him popping up on campus down in Gainesville for an official visit last weekend, something that is never a good sign this late in the process.

Woods, a four-star recruit and the No. 116 player in the 2025 class per On3’s Industry Rankings, made a huge leap in the updated national rankings that would have had put him as one of the best prospects for the Nittany Lions this cycle.

The Kansas native originally picked Penn State over Purdue and Tennessee back when he committed this past summer, and with a strong senior showing, he generated a ton of interests around the country.

Florida shored things up in their program when head coach Billy Napier was officially retained by their athletic director for next season amid all the speculation that he was going to be fired, so that has allowed the Gators to hit the recruiting trail hard.

This resulted in them pulling off this flip, something that stings for the Nittany Lions as they look to go after some of their own top targets.

Where Penn State goes from here will be seen.

Chaz Coleman, their most recent addition at the edge rusher position, is seen as someone who could blossom at the collegiate level when just focusing on the defensive side of the ball, and when he turned down a visit to Ohio State and will visit Penn State again this weekend instead, that likely solidified things.

Still, it’s never easy to see a commit flip, especially when it’s someone as talented as Woods.

Penn State is hosting four-star 2025 quarterback Bryce Baker this weekend

Penn State hosting UNC quarterback commit for regular-season finale.

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.

Penn State flip target Brandon Finney focusing on his recruitment again

Penn State is hoping to make a final push to flip this recruiting target in their favor.

There are just two weeks until early signing day for class of 2025 prospects, and Penn State is pushing hard to get their current commits officially locked up while also focusing their attention on their top flip targets.

This has been a strange cycle for the Nittany Lions.

Not only have they struggled to land in-state prospects at a rate that hasn’t been seen under [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag], but multiple targets they expected to land have spurned them at the last minute for surprise programs across the country.

That’s the new reality of this NIL era, and will be something Penn State will have to adjust to going forward.

But, Franklin and his staff have done good job staying connecting with recruits who might have picked another schools early on in the process, allowing them to be considered as decision day looms.

Someone at the top of their target board is [autotag]Brandon Finney[/autotag].

The five-star cornerback, as ranked by 247Sports, was one of those prospects who surprisingly committed to another school when Penn State was thought to be the leader in his process. For Finney, that program was Oregon, an NIL-rich school who has become a monster on the recruiting trail.

However, the Nittany Lions have maintained close contact with him, relying on the pipeline that is McDonogh to try and convince him to flip.

Will that happen, though?

Momentum has started to build that suggests Finney could be thinking about changing his pledge, and even though he’s still committed to Oregon, there are starting to be some cracks in that foundation.

With McDonogh’s season now over, Brian Dohn of 247Sports is reporting that the talented cornerback is now focusing on his recruitment again with Oregon, Penn State and Michigan all pushing to add him to their class. What’s interesting is that he could even take his decision past the early signing date and wait until February 2025 to make things official (subscription required).

That could be an advantage for Penn State.

With their second road game in a row this weekend against Minnesota, their last chance to host recruits is the final home game of the season against Maryland that comes on a holiday weekend and is right before Early Signing Day.

If Finney wants to string out his recruitment now that his high school season is over, that could allow the Nittany Lions to make more of a pitch to ultimately land him.