Penn State has lost out on a WPIAL recruiting target, and to make matters worse, it lost out to Notre Dame.
James Halter, a four-star Class of 2027 OT from Pittsburgh Central Catholic and a Notre Dame legacy, committed to ND over Ohio State and Penn State, among others.
Halter’s father, Jordan, played offensive line for Lou Holtz at ND from 1989-93.
Losing out on in-state prospect to Notre Dame had been a recurring theme for Penn State in the Class of 2026. The state’s top-ranked player for that Class, Joey O’Brien, committed to ND and Tyler Merrill, the No. 7 ranked player, committed there as well.
This all happened before Penn State fired James Franklin.
Now, the program must fight to keep its top-ranked Class of 2026 commit, Matt Sieg, and the No. 3 ‘26 player from Pennsylvania, Kevin Brown, away from Notre Dame and others.
Losing Halter also stings because, previously, Penn State had a stranglehold on Pittsburgh Central Catholic.
This year’s team featured Peter Gonzalez, Anthony Speca and Xxavier Thomas, all of which played at PCC.
Recruiting the WPIAL in general has been a strength of Penn State in recent years, due in large part to Terry Smith, who is now the interim head coach. Smith played at Gateway and ended up coaching there for a decade, so his experience has been a big asset for Penn State.
Smith’s future with the program is among many uncertainties that will be solved after the season.
Another uncertainty will be whatever happens with Penn State’s Class of 2027. It currently doesn’t have a single member committed to it, and that will change. The question is, who will Penn State fill the class with?
