Penn State coach James Franklin will be watching two of his Class of 2026 commits Friday night, a source tells Nittany Sports Now.
He won’t have to travel far to do it, either.
Harrisburg stars Messiah Mickens (four-star RB) and Kevin Brown (four-star OL) will be playing at Altoona High Schol.
The source told NSN that Franklin is expected to come to Altoona via his famous helicopter around 6:30. He’d then stand on the sidelines until the end of the first quarter. In that time, he’ll be watching a pair of blue-chips that could play a big part in Penn State football’s future.
Mickens was the first player to commit to Penn State’s Class of 2026, doing so in August 2023.
Back then, he played at Trinity High School in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania but transferred to Harrisburg this past offseason.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.As a true freshman in 2022, Mickens rushed for 18 touchdowns and 961 yards, averaging more than 7.8 yards per carry.
The next season, he rushed for the same amount of yards on 18 fewer carries, scoring 14 touchdowns.
Mickens has also been an effective receiver, catching 16 passes for 200 yards as a freshman and 13 for 173 and three scores as a sophomore.
Brown announced his commitment to Penn State in late July during Lasch Bash Weekend, which is Penn State’s biggest recruiting weekend of the summer, if not the whole year. 247Sports’ composite rankings have Brown as the No. 31 overall player in the country from his class, the No. 5 OT in the country and the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania.
Of Penn State football’s six Class of 2026 commits, Brown is ranked No. 1 by 247Sports and Mickens is No. 2.
