Although Ohio State came calling, Kemon Spell won’t be answering, and the recruiting phenom is instead sticking with Penn State
“Oh, I’m like a thousand percent locked in,” Spell told Nittany Sports now. “When I was talking to Ohio State, they knew I was locked in with Penn State, and that I shut down my recruitment. And I let them know that I did that.”
It’s obvious why Ohio State wants Spell, who’s also been offered by UCLA, Tennessee and Notre Dame since committing to Penn State in August.
Recruiting: Top-Ranked Penn State Commit Gets Offer From Ohio State
The 5-foot-10, 185-pounder from McKeesport High School in the Pittsburgh area is the No. 1 running back in the country, the No. 1 player in PA, the No. 10 overall player in the 2027 Class and a five-star per 247Sports.
Spell appreciated the offer but doesn’t plan on going anywhere.
“It meant a lot,” he said. “They’re a great school, great program. It meant a lot to get an offer like that, but at the end of the day, I made a choice that I wanted to be at Penn State, and it’s going to stay like that.”
Like many who grow up in Pennsylvania, Spell grew up a fan of Penn State.
But he didn’t have a full appreciation for what the program has to offer until going to his first game, which was the 2023 White Out 31-0 demolition of Iowa.
“To watch it on TV, it looks cool, great, fun,” he said. “You get there in person, it’s just so much better, the environment. So much better, the coaches. Everybody’s just… they just love it. And I like it, too.”
Penn State, and its new RB coach, also like Spell.
AMERICA’S BEST
Spell is the best tailback in the country from his class.
This is, of course, a subjective statement.
But two of the biggest recruiting services in the land, 247Sports and On3Sports, rank Spell No. 1.
Yes, he was a big recruiting win for Penn State RB coach Ja’Juan Seider. But little did Spell know that he’d be the last RB to commit in Seider’s seven-year tenure. This past January, Seider moved on from Penn State, doing to for the same position at Notre Dame.
This was, of course, a bummer for Spell.
“When I found out coach Seider left, it was heartbreaking,” he said. “I loved him, I loved his coaching. He was one of the reasons I went there.”
Fortunately for Spell and Penn State, coach James Franklin hired a gem to succeed Seider.
There’s an argument to be made that Stan Drayton is the best RB coach in college football history.
Not many coaches have won national titles at that position, and Drayton accomplished that feat a two schools: Florida (2008) and Ohio State (2014).
Not long after Penn State hired Drayton— who had most recently been Temple’s head coach— he met with Spell.
The two got along right away.
“It was just so, so good,” he said. “We talked for 15 minutes about everything. He wants to break my film down… I loved him, and I want to work with him more and get to know him.”
SEIDER’S STILL SWINGING
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: Ja’Juan Seider
When Seider got the Notre Dame job, it was only natural to believe that he’d try to get Spell to change his mind.
Spell confirmed that, indeed, that was the case.
But like with Ohio State, Spell told Seider his heart was with PSU.
“He’s been telling me he knows I’m locked in with Penn State,” Spell said, “but he just wants to get me up there (to Notre Dame), see what the campus is like. But it’s just, like, we made our promise to Penn State that we wouldn’t do anything like that. So, that’s basically what I told him.”
Spell said that Seider plans on visiting him soon.
Spell is one of three commits in Penn State’s 2027 Class. The class ranks No. 2 in the country in the early going.
