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Penn State Football Recruiting

How Penn State Football Has Built a Top 4 Recruiting Class

Penn State coach James Franklin would hate to cut players but has a plan in place if it has to happen.
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: James Franklin

Penn State just keeps on stacking in its 2026 recruiting class.

Less than 48 hours after Alexander Haskell (Philadelphia) announced his commitment, Davion Brown did the same.

So Penn State has added an in-state DL (Haskell) and blue-chip WR (Brown) to the fold.

Overall, not a bad stretch, and itโ€™s been a solid Class for Coach James Franklin and company thus far. With 17 commits now in the picture, Penn State has the No. 4 Class in the country per 247Sports. Only USCโ€” with an absurd 27 commitmentโ€” Notre Dame and Ohio State are ahead.

Penn State has 10 four stars and seven three stars per 247. Hereโ€™s a breakdown of all of them.

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MATT SIEG

Sieg, a four-star WPIAL safety from Fort Cherry High School, committed to Penn State in early November right before the team took on Ohio State, a big recruiting win for PSU. 247 has Sieg as the No. 74 overall player in the country, along with the No. 8 safety and No. 2 overall player in Pennsylvania. Siegโ€™s father, Jeff, could see Beaver Stadium from his house growing up, so Matt Sieg has been familiar with Penn State football for a long time.

KEVIN BROWN

Brown, a four-star offensive tackle from Harrisburg, committed to Penn State in late July. 247Sportsโ€™ composite ratings have him as the 43rd-ranked player in the country, as well as the No. 5 OT and No. 1 overall player in PA. Penn State has built a perennially good offensive line mainly through recruiting, and Brown could help continue that.

DAVION BROWN

The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder from The Trinity Episcopal School in Richmond, Virginia is a four-star and the No. 18 receiver in the country per 247Sports.

247 also has him as the No. 6 player in Virginia and the 143rd-ranked overall prospect. The No. 2 player in Virginia, Darius Gray, is a big-time Penn State target and the No. 1 interior offensive line prospect in the country.

As far as Brown goes, heโ€™s been on Penn Stateโ€™s radar for years.

The program offered him in June 2022, before he had ever played a high school game.

Since then, heโ€™s become a high school star.

As a true freshman, he went for 928 yards and 11 touchdowns on 41 receptions, and itโ€™s been all uphill from there. Along with Penn State, Brown had offers from schools such as Auburn, Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Georgia, NC State, North Carolina, Pitt, Rutgers, SMU, South Carolina, Syracuse, Tennessee, USC, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia.

PEYTON FALZONE

This is a big get.

Per 247Sports, Falzone is the No. 11 QB in the country from the 2026 Class along with the No. 4 player in Pennsylvania and the No. 177 player overall. Last season, per MaxPreps, Falzone threw for 23 touchdowns and four interceptions, completing 52% of his passes. He was also a threat on the ground, going for 697 yards and eight touchdowns on 78 carries. His performance earned him Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Offensive MVP.

DANIEL JENNINGS

Our first out-of-state guy, Jennings committed to Penn State on the last day of July. 247 has him as the No. 1 player in West Virginia as well as the No. 188 player nationally and No. 19 EDGE in the country.

TROY HUHN

Coming all the way from California, Huhn was the first QB to commit in this Class, doing so in June. Heโ€™s the 202nd-ranked player nationally per 247Sports, the No. 14 quarterback and the No. 24 overall player in California.

MESSIAH MICKENS

Going back to PA now, Mickens, a star at Harrisburg High School, was a big-time get for Penn State. He was the first player to commit to this 2026 class, doing so in August 2023. Since then, 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.

Heโ€™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 earned him PAโ€™s Gatorade Player of the Year.

TERRY WIGGINS

The four-star linebacker from Coatesville Area (Coatesville, PA) is rated by 247Sports as the No. 7 overall prospect in the state of Pennsylvania for the Class of 2026 and rated the No. 26 overall linebacker nationally in 247Sports Composite. Wiggins projects to be an impact linebacker at all phases. His 6โ€™3โ€ 210 pound frame allows the versatility to play on the line of scrimmage and fleet of foot to drop back into coverage. Wiggins fluidity in his ability to read and react to a play with a great first step makes him coveted.

DARRELL CAREY

Carey, a three-star from DeMatha, committed to Penn State in late April. Heโ€™s a safety, much like KJ Winston, who also came out of DeMatha. If Carey is close to the player Winston turned into, Penn State and its fans will be in for a treat.

 

DAVID DAVIS

Imani Christian Academy has been good to Penn State. In the last recruiting cycle, Penn State got Dayshaun Burnett to commit. Now, Davis will be following him, assuming he signs. The three-star is the No. 9 overall player in Pennsylvania per 247Sports.

ISAAC CHUKWURAH

By his own admission, it took Isaac โ€œChuckโ€ Chukwurah a while to get noticed.

But that changed thanks to Chukwurahโ€™s monster junior season at Caravel Academy in Bear, Delaware.

Before the campaign, he didnโ€™t have any Power Four offers.

Now, he has 20.

Granted, only four of them were from Power Four programs, and Chukwurah feels he should have had more. But Penn State was one of those four, and that was the one he wanted most of all.

โ€œWhat made Penn State an ideal fit for me was the culture of the program,โ€ Chukaurah told NSN. โ€œYou can see the culture on the outside but itโ€™s even stronger on the inside of the building. I also like the coaches. Coach Franklin and Coach Barnes are great people on and off the field. It also makes it easier when itโ€™s your dream school.โ€

ROSEBY LUBINTUS

The 6-foot-6, 330-pound Roseby Lubintus ย announced his commitment to PSU on the last Friday of April.

This big fellaโ€” a three-star from Timber Creek High School in Sicklerville, New Jersey, has been on Penn Stateโ€™s radar for more than a year.

PSU offered him in March 2024. He visited campus this past February for one of the schoolโ€™s junior day events. Lubintus also had offers from schools such as Boston College, Florida, Maryland, Michigan State, Syracuse and ย West Virginia.

At the end of the day, Penn State won out on an offensive lineman, something position coach Phil Trautwein has grown use to doing over the past several years.

 

JULIAN PETERSON

Moving over to New Jersey. Peterson committed to Penn State in late January. The three-star cornerback is the No. 7 player in New Jersey from his class per 247Sportsโ€™ composite rankings.

JAHISEAR ROGERS

Penn State has struggled at receiver in recent years, and if that trend continues going into next season, Rogers could be a reinforcement. The three-star is the No. 1 player in the state of Delaware.

ALEXANDER HASKELL

Penn State had been interested in Haskell for a while, offering him in June 2023. After that, he visited Penn State five times, so this decision shouldnโ€™t come as much of a surprise. Haskell also had offers from schools such as Duke, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Pitt, Syracuse, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Hereโ€™s the scouting report on Haskell, provided by 247 scouting analyst Gabe Brooks.

โ€œHyperactive front-line defender who could possibly play the edge or move to a more traditional D-line role depending on personnel/scheme. Could potentially best fit a one-gapping interior role, pending third party-verified measurables and bulking capacity. Also cuts the profile of an old-school strong-side defensive end. Relentless motor should translate regardless of long-term positional home. Flashes impressive initial acceleration and get-off juice that helps fuel some speed-to-power ability at the point of attack. Produced solid pass-rushing production as a junior (5.5 sacks). Ceiling in that category will rise with expanded move set, improved body control, and economy of movement when attacking. Projects as a P4/high-major prospect who could become a quality starter with potential beyond college.โ€

 

LAVAR KEYS

Another receiver, this one from the state of Maryland. Keys was named after Penn State legend Lavar Arrington, so, yeah, he knew where he wanted to go in recruiting. The three-star from DeMatha Catholic is the No. 14 overall player in Maryland per 247Sportsโ€™ Composite Ratings.

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