In recruiting news, one of Penn State football’s top-rated Class of 2026 commits has set his official visit dates.
Messiah Mickens, a consensus four-star, in-state RB from Harrisburg announced via X (formerly Twitter) that he’ll be taking his official visit May 29-June 1, right at the beginning of the season.
OV locked in May 29th -June 1st 🦁 pic.twitter.com/gVlcGVL7yE
— Messiah Mickens (@Messiah_1M) February 18, 2025
This is a player Penn State badly wants to keep in the fold.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder is still committed to Penn State but recently told Steve Wiltfong of On3Sports that he’s keeping his options open.
Mickens told Wiltfong he plans on taking official visits to Notre Dame, North Carolina, Missouri and Tennessee. He already has officials locked in with Notre Dame and North Carolina and will have the official dates soon. At Notre Dame, Mickens would be playing for recently-departed Penn State RB coach Ja’Juan Seider.
Moving On: Penn State RB Coach Ja’Juan Seider Leaving For Notre Dame
At North Carolina, he’d be playing for Bill Belichick. Tennessee was a Playoff team in 2024. Mickens also said South Carolina is in the mix and he plans on taking an official there.
So this is certainly something worth watching.
The good news for Penn State fans is that Mickens said it would take a lot to get him to leave.
‘GOD WILL GIVE ME THE SIGN’
Mickens, who was the first player to commit to Penn State’s 2026 class, doing so in August 2023, told Wiltfong it would be “super hard for me to leave, honestly.”
“God will give me the sign if it’s right or not,” he said.
Mickens has firmly established himself as one of the best prep running backs in the country and he further solidified that in 2024. He ended the season with 1,214 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns, also catching 17 passes for 235 yards and additional two TD.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.He’s also pretty darn good defensively, ending the season with 81 tackles, 16.5 sacks, 21 quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles.
All of this was good enough for him to earn PA Gatorade Player of the Year.
Penn State Recruiting: Commit Named PA Gatorade Player of the Year
DRAYTON’S 1st BIG RECRUITING TASK
Photo by Penn State Athletics: Stan Drayton
Keeping Mickens in the fold will be the first big recruiting task for Penn State’s new RB coach, Stan Drayton.
Drayton talked with Mickens on the phone last Thursday night, before his hiring was reported.
“He’s a great coach,” Mickens told Wiltfong. “He definitely knows his knowledge about running backs. Now it’s just time to build a relationship with him.”
“Had a chance to talk to him and pick his brain,” Mickens said. “He wants to make me the best back in the country and develop me. He has a great level of IQ for the running back position. He was just breaking a lot of stuff down to me.”
Penn State currently has nine players committed to its 2026 recruiting class, which On3 has at No. 7 in the country.
Mickens is the No. 10 RB in the country from his class per On3’s Industry Ranking, as well as the No. 4 overall player from PA and 108th-ranked overall player nationally.
