The Nittany Lions pried another top corner from the Commonwealth of Virginia and Virginia Tech.
Four-star cornerback Jaziel Hart from North Cross School (Roanoke, VA) is rated by On3 as the No. 7 overall prospect in the state of Virginia for the Class of 2026 and rated the No. 44 overall cornerback nationally in 247Sports Composite committed to Penn State today.ย
โThe reason Iโm deciding now is because I feel like theyโve been recruiting me long enough and hard enough over every other school,โ Hart said. โTheyโve shown great hospitality and have kept me as a top priority throughout this entire process. Iโve seen that, and my parents have seen that.
โSo, Iโm mainly choosing them because of the loyalty theyโve shown me, and now my loyalty to their program. Iโve also seen their loyalty to Penn State. Many of them have been there for a while. Coach Terry (Smith) ย and Coach (James) Franklin have been there for over a decade now. That shows me a lot.โ
Hart projects to be a cornerback but his ability to crash the line of scrimmage makes him a potential project elsewhere in the secondary. For that project to succeed, one of the areas Hart has to work on is his ability to tackle.
Hartโs ability to be explosive and raw physical tools with Penn Stateโs ability to develop athletes to maximize these traits make him an attractive get for Penn State.
One of Hartโs strongest traits is his football IQ and situational and zone awareness, something that will be enhanced if Hart develops physically in other areas.ย
For Penn State, Hart is the 17th overall commitment for 247Sports No. 4 overall recruiting class of 2026. Hart selected Penn State over Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Michigan, and Tennessee.
