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Penn State Football

Recruiting: WR Favored to Pick Penn State Commits Elsewhere

Penn State has fallen in the rankings?
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin November 12, 2022 David Hague/NSN

A receiver from the 2026 recruiting class who was projected to commit to Penn State has picked elsewhere

Wednesday morning, word got out that an in-state, 6-foot-3, 205-pound WR from Harrisburg named Elias Coke had committed to Rutgers.

Coke is a three-star recruit per 247Sports.

Per the siteโ€™s composite rankings, heโ€™s the No. 13 overall player in Pennsylvania from his class, the No. 56 receiver and the No. 381 overall player in the country.

Pitt was also competing for Coke, who visited for the teamโ€™s game against Clemson Nov. 16. But Pitt didnโ€™t end up making Cokeโ€™s final five. Instead, it was down to Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State and Rutgers. Coke chose New Jersey.

AN UPSET

In a recent interview, Coke said that he had known for a while where heโ€™d be committing.

โ€œI think I have known of the school for probably two weeks,โ€ Coke told On3โ€™s Chad Simmons.

โ€œI just didnโ€™t know when the right time was to announce it, but when the days started to pass by, I built stronger relationships and knew this was where I wanted to be.โ€

Penn State had been the favorite for Coke. 247โ€™s lone โ€œCrystal Ballโ€ projection, placed by national analyst Brian Dohn, had him picking Penn State.
On3โ€™s recruiting prediction machine also had Coke picking Penn State by a wide margin.
Per On3, Coke had โ€œseen the Nittany Lions in person 11 times, eight more than the (Rutgers) Scarlet Knights, which are second on his visit center tracker.
So, yeah, it sounded like it was Penn State all the way. But that wasnโ€™t the case

PENN STATE NEEDS RECEIVERS

Penn State didnโ€™t get a single reception from its receivers in the Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Miami.

WR Trey Wallace has a pass broken up

Coke wouldnโ€™t have been at Penn State until next season but in the meantime, the team sure could use receivers. Penn Stateโ€™s WR corps didnโ€™t have a single reception in the teamโ€™s Orange Bowl/College Football Semifinal loss to Notre Dame, which pretty much sums up how things at the position have been for the past two years.

Penn State opens the 2025 season against Nevada Aug. 30 at Beaver Stadium.

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