Tag: penn state football recruiting

Elite 2025 offensive lineman says Penn State ‘feels like family’

Penn State is sitting in a good spot for a key offensive line recruiting target in the Class of 2025.

With Penn State looking to fill out their 2025 recruiting class, there are still people on the offensive line [autotag]Phil Trautwein[/autotag] is targeting ahead of their commitment dates.

Following official visit season, some recruits are ready to announce their decisions after making up their minds while others are still deciding which direction they want to go for their collegiate careers.

[autotag]Malachi Goodman[/autotag] is in the latter camp.

The four-star offensive lineman is down to five schools and he took official visits to see all of them. USC was the last place he saw, and he is going to sit back and figure out what program he wants to join after discussions with his family and high school coaches.

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, he would be a major addition for Penn State as they currently sit with just two offensive line commits ([autotag]Owen Aliciene[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Troutman[/autotag]) despite thinking Bray O’Hara will eventually shift into being an offensive tackle.

Goodman would become their top-rated lineman as he is listed at No. 102 overall and 11th at his position.

It doesn’t sound like a decision will be coming from the big tackle anytime soon. He told Brian Dohn of 247Sports that he is targeting late-July or August for his announcement as that would give him time to think about his decision and where he wants to play. Development, education and stability are what he’s looking for in a school, and he had some glowing things to say about [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and Trautwein before saying the program feels like home and is family (subscription required).

To get this done, Penn State will have to beat out Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, and USC, all national brands with plenty to offer.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine lists the Nittany Lions as the favorite to land Goodman, but this is going to be a tough one to land.

Still, with the extended decision period, that should help Penn State continue to stand out for him as they continue to stay in contact and make sure he knows the Nittany Lions are a more-than-viable option.

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Penn State working to flip Ohio State edge rusher commit

Penn State is working hard to flip this in-state edge rusher from his Ohio State commitment.

It’s been a great couple weeks for the Penn State Nittany Lions on the recruiting trail.

After getting some tough news regarding some of their top targets, they were able to land many talented recruits they were pursuing and even won some hotly-contested battles.

With [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and his staff continuing to pursue top uncommitted players in the 2025 cycle so they can secure a top ranked class, there are still some recruits committed elsewhere who they will try to flip.

One is [autotag]Zahir Mathis[/autotag], a four-star edge rusher from Philadelphia who was once rated as the top player in the state before getting overtaken by Matt Zollers.

With Franklin’s emphasis on keeping the top in-state recruits in Pennsylvania to play for Penn State, it was tough when Mathis announced he had committed to Ohio State.

Rated as the 60th-best player in the country and No. 5 at his position by 247Sports’ Composite Rankings, the 6-foot-6, 225-pounder would be a huge boost for the Nittany Lions as [autotag]Deion Barnes[/autotag] continues to put together his edge rushing group.

Until a player officially signs his letter of intent, they can decommit and decide to play football elsewhere.

According to Tyler Calvaruso of 247Sports, he thinks Penn State will continue to pursue Mathis, especially after he took an official visit to Happy Valley on June 21 with his high school teammate and Nittany Lions commit Jabree Wallace-Coleman (subscription required).

What comes out of it will be seen, but it never hurts for Franklin and his staff to continue working on the talented edge rusher to see if he might be interested in joining this program when it’s time to make things official.

The prospect of staying home and having his teammate with him might be alluring.

Wallace-Coleman and Penn State weren’t highly involved back in January when Mathis made his first decision to join the Buckeyes.

Maybe things have changed now and he might be considering decommitting and signing with the Nittany Lions.

It’s worth it to keep trying until he officially signs on with another program.

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Penn State picks up key wide receiver commit from Jeff Exinor Jr.

Penn State has its four-star wide receiver in the Class of 2025 with Jeff Exinor Jr.

Following a busy week of recruiting buzz, Penn State is heading into another weekend feeling good with a new commitment on the board for the Class of 2025. Penn State started off the weekend by receiving a commitment from four-star wide receiver [autotag]Jeff Exinor Jr.[/autotag], from Maryland.

Exinor committed to Penn State over offers from in-state Maryland, Virginia Tech, and Syracuse in the final stages of his recruiting process. The 6-2 receiver will enter his senior season playing for McDonogh School, the same school that has produced players like Dani Dennis-Sutton and Dvon J-Thomas, starting defensive linemen for the Nittany Lions this upcoming season.

Exinor is the second wide receiver in Penn State’s Class of 2025. He joins Lyrick Samuel, from Brooklyn, NY, in the recruiting class in hopes of adding some explosiveness to the Penn State offense. The offensive production of the Kansas Jayhawks under new Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is credited with increasing Exinor’s interest in becoming a Nittany Lion.

Exinor is the 20th commitment in Penn State’s Class of 2025, which is pushing for a top-10 ranking in the nation.

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Penn State lands another four-star edge rusher in Jayden Woods

Penn State adds another four-star commitment from edge rusher Jayden Woods.

This time on the calendar suggested there would be a lot of decisions coming for top players across the country about where they’re going to play college football, and Penn State was hoping they would land many of their top targets.

A lot of eyes were on two coaches in particular as [autotag]Deion Barnes[/autotag] and [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag] really had their first full recruiting cycle this offseason.

For a while, both had only landed one commit when [autotag]Lyrick Samuel[/autotag] jumped on board in the receiver room, however, since then, Barnes has been on an incredible run that continues to get better.

Not only did he get his first one in Cortez Harris, but he followed that up with a huge victory to land Max Granville, poaching him from the state of Texas to beat out Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

As if that wasn’t good enough, the Nittany Lions have landed another four-star edge rusher in [autotag]Jayden Woods[/autotag].

The 6-foot-3, 235-pounder is a consensus four-star in the class of 2025 and is ranked 23rd at his position and 201st overall by On3’s Industry Ranking.

This was another recruitment that was seen as something potentially hard to get home as Woods is a Kansas native and was heavily being pursued by Kansas State and Tennessee.

They were able to get him on campus twice in 2024, including an official visit that took place on the weekend of June 7.

The edge rusher talked about developing a good relationship with Barnes and the interesting connection his family has with [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag], as he recruited Woods’s father to Kansas State back when Franklin was coaching there.

He is now the 19th commit for Penn State in the class of 2025 as they continue to put together a group that could finish towards the top of national rankings with their continued pursuit of other top targets on their board.

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Penn State gets commitment from elite 2026 QB Troy Huhn

Penn State adds one of the nation’s top QBs to the Class of 2026 with Troy Huhn.

To say the Penn State Nittany Lions are hot on the recruiting trail right now would be an understatement.

Despite two players decommitting from their 2025 class and flipping to other schools around the country, that disappointment has been massively outweighed by the players [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and his staff have been able to land.

Coming out of their first official visit weekend back in late-May, there was some disappointment that nobody verbally committed and decided to continue taking trips to other programs.

But, Penn State stayed the course, continuing to stay in contact with their top targets and that has paid off in a major way.

While the uncommitted 2025 recruits were on campus in Happy Valley, there were also underclassmen who decided to take visits to see the program and meet the coaching staff as well.

Almost in the blink of an eye, top 2026 quarterbacks were flying off the board, one of which was Penn State’s top target Dia Bell who decided to commit to Texas.

The Nittany Lions pivoted, though, and they welcomed four-star California quarterback [autotag]Troy Huhn[/autotag] to campus last week, and all reports coming out following his visit were that everything went extremely well.

So well, in fact, that the 6-foot-4 signal-caller has decided to commit to Penn State, picking them over Auburn and Ohio State.

https://www.instagram.com/troy_huhn12/p/C8pJqWKsnlN/

Ranked as the No. 6 quarterback in the 2026 class and 60th overall by On3, this is a massive get for the Nittany Lions.

He joins star running back [autotag]Messiah Mickens[/autotag] in the class and gets Penn State off to a great start in that cycle with two cornerstone pieces.

Huhn told Tom Loy of 247Sports that he committed because of the family culture in place within the program. He said it felt like home after his relationship grew with coach Franklin, something he wanted to have happen during his most recent visit. Now that he’s on board, Huhn says he’s going to be a major asset in building this class (subscription required).

Penn State will look to close out the 2025 cycle strong, but they have already made a major splash in the 2026 class.

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Penn State officially lands coveted 2025 four-star Max Granville

Penn State lands a massive four-star commitment from Max Granville.

The wins keep coming for Penn State, [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag], and his staff.

After the early part of their official visit season started out slow on the commitment front, it has completely taken off with many of their top targets jumping on board.

The Nittany Lions were hovering around one of the top classes nationally, and with some of the players they have already landed, they should be able to secure that by the time the 2025 class rankings are finalized.

One player who is certainly going to give them a boost is their newest commit [autotag]Max Granville[/autotag].

https://www.instagram.com/max__granville/p/C8nZ6J7S2Jh/

A four-star edge rusher and linebacker from the state of Texas, the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder has been high on the wish list of Penn State for a while. This was a process that many recruiting analysts thought would be tough to win with Texas A&M and Oklahoma so involved in his process.

However, there continued to be great feedback coming out regarding out Granville felt about the program and coaching staff as a whole. That continued to be the case when he was on campus for an official visit during the weekend of May 31.

But with two more scheduled officials to A&M and Oklahoma following his departure from State College, there were many who didn’t think Penn State could get this done.

Instead, they landed one of their biggest wins of the cycle by picking up a commitment from No. 167 player in the 2025 class.

Granville has NFL pedigree with his dad spending four years playing for the Cincinnati Bengals. He was a major part of the recruitment process of his son and liked what the Nittany Lions had to offer.

Ultimately, though, a huge deciding factor was his mother, and after his official visit, Penn State left a very good impression upon the 2025 recruit and his family.

Now, they have Granville on board as their 18th commit in the class.

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Penn State storms ahead of Oklahoma and Texas A&M in recruiting predictions for four-star linebacker

Penn State has stormed ahead of Oklahoma and Texas A&M for a four-star linebacker from Texas.

It was once thought that Penn State securing a commitment from a four-star linebacker out of Texas might be a bit of an uphill battle. Perhaps it still is, but there could be some reason to begin feeling optimistic about Penn State’s chances of winning a commitment from [autotag]Max Granville[/autotag].

Granville is a four-star linebacker from Sugar Land, Texas, and Oklahoma has been considered the favorite for his commitment, as one might expect for the traditional southwestern powerhouse program in this particular region. But Penn State may be about to steal Granville from underneath Oklahoma’s noses as he approaches his decision date.

The On3 recruiting prediction machine has swung wildly in Penn State’s favor ahead of Oklahoma in the past 24 hours with four predictions from On3’s staff being cast for Penn State. Among those predictions made came from Steve Wiltfong, On3’s vice president of recruiting and transfer portal, and three others staffers including recruiting analyst Ryan Snyder, who always has a good pulse on the Penn State recruiting scene.

All four of these predictions were recorded Monday afternoon, suggesting Penn State is very close to getting a major commitment out of Texas. Penn State has gone from having the third-best odds of getting Granville’s commitment to the leader in the race with a 90.7% chance in their favor according to the updated On3 recruiting prediction machine calculations.

Granville was offered by Penn State in May 2023. He made an unofficial visit to Penn State in March of this year and took an official visit at the end of May. He has since been scheduled to officially visit USC, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma (this past weekend).

Stay tuned. Penn State’s recruiting class could be about to get a nice commitment.

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Where Penn State’s 2025 class ranks after a busy weekend on the recruiting trail

Will Penn State once again have a top-10 recruiting class in 2025?

It was a busy weekend on the recruiting trail for the Nittany Lions, with a few commitments and a couple of de-commitments.

Several people expected Penn State’s recruiting activity to pick up around this time, and they were correct. Commitments came in from safety Braswell Thomas and running back Jabree Wallace-Coleman. Those were significant commitments for [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and Penn State as they filled holes in spots where Penn State recently had de-commitments.

Regarding the rest of the Big Ten, Penn State has held its no. 3 position in the 247Sports Composite Ranking for a while now, and this past week did not change the Nittany Lions’ conference standing. Nationally, Penn State began the month of June at no. 8 in the national recruiting rankings for the Class of 2025, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. A couple of weeks ago, Penn State dipped out of the top 10, but the last week or so of activity saw the Nittany Lions move up slightly to no. 11.

Related: Penn State’s 2025 commitment tracker

On Monday afternoon, Penn State ranked 11th in the updated 247Sports composite rankings. Ohio State and Rutgers are the only two Big Ten teams ranked above the Nittany Lions. The Nittany Lions fell slightly in the On3 Class of 2025 rankings and now sit at no. 15 nationally. Rivals rank Penn State’s class the highest out of the three major sites, slotting the Nittany Lions all the way up at no. 8.

Penn State seems capable of a top-10 recruiting class in 2025, and it is all but guaranteed to have one of the best recruiting classes in the conference once again.

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Four-star edge rusher Cortez Harris commits to Penn State

Penn State concludes wild recruiting weekend with commitment from edge rusher Cortez Harris.

It has been a rollercoaster for [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and the Penn State football program on the recruiting trail this week.

There was a ton of momentum going in their direction as they landed some standout defensive backs who were at the top of their list. But after thinking they had a hard commitment from running back Alvin Henderson, he flipped to Auburn.

That was later followed by linebacker DJ McClary decommitting and joining Rutgers’ recruiting class.

Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, they had a backup plan in place for Henderson as they earned a commitment from instate four-star running back Jabree Wallace-Coleman while also landing safety Braswell Thomas.

Franklin and his staff continue to stay hot.

Penn State landed another four-star recruit in edge rusher [autotag]Cortez Harris[/autotag] out of Maryland. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound prospect was on campus for an official visit this past weekend.

Ranked as the 26th-best player at his position and No. 288 in the 2025 cycle by On3’s Industry Ranking, he becomes the first defensive lineman commit for the Nittany Lions in this class.

Following Harris’ commitment, Penn State is now up to 17 and is knocking on the door of being a Top 10 class.

From the sound of it, the relationship he established with [autotag]Deion Barnes[/autotag] was a big deciding factor in him picking the Nittany Lions over his other two finalists Maryland and Tennessee.

There was some pressure on Barnes to start landing some recruits on the defensive line since he hadn’t yet in this cycle, but all the intel that has been coming out is that Penn State was close to getting commitments, and Harris is the first domino.

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Penn State loses Class of 2025 LB DJ McClary to Rutgers

Penn State is down a four-star commitment in the Class of 2025 after a new flip to another Big Ten program.

For the second time in a matter of days, Penn State has lost one member of its Class of 2025. Days after losing a four-star running back to an SEC school, Penn State has now lost a four-star linebacker to a Big Ten rival. [autotag]DJ McClary[/autotag] announced on his social media profile on Sunday that he has committed to Rutgers, flipping from his original Penn State commit from last September.

McClary committed to Penn State on September 24, 2023. The timing of the flip is interesting given McClary just visited Penn State within the last two weeks, which followed a visit to Rutgers in late May.

The loss of the commitment from McClary stings a bit on the defensive side of the recruiting class. Penn State is down to just one linebacker in the Class of 2025 at the moment with Dayshaun Burnett, from Pittsburgh. Burnett is a four-star recruit according to 247Sports and Rivals, but has just a three-star rating from On3.

This is the second four-star player to flip from his Penn State commitment in the past few days. Running back Alvin Henderson, from Alabama, announced he flipped his commitment from Penn State to Auburn. In both cases, the player backing away from his commitment to Penn State is staying closer to home with an in-state program.

Penn State did pick up a couple of commitments this weekend, though. Penn State picked up a commitment from running back Jabree Wallace-Coleman out of Philadelphia and safety Braswell Thomas, from Cape May, New Jersey.

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