When Matt Campbell first met with the media on Dec. 8, his message about in-state recruiting was noticeably more measured than the one Penn State fans had grown used to hearing from his predecessor, James Franklin.
Franklin, as always, leaned into charisma and bravado. His recruiting philosophy was summed up in one memorable phrase: Penn State would “Dominate The State.”
Campbell did not offer a line quite that dramatic, but his answer was no less revealing. If anything, it was more deliberate and more reflective of how he appears to approach roster building.
“I think one of the great reasons being here is, boy, you’re in the most fertile ground of the excellence of high school football in a six-to-eight-hour radius,” Campbell said. “Everything will start with building high school football and continuing to do a great job in this state and our surrounding states. Nobody is going to attack more than us.”
That quote may not have had the same punch as Franklin’s famous slogan, but it still carried a clear message. Campbell understands exactly what Penn State’s job is in Pennsylvania. He knows the Nittany Lions are expected to recruit this state aggressively, consistently, and at a championship level. He also knows that winning Pennsylvania is not just a nice talking point. It is a foundational piece of sustaining Penn State football.
To Franklin’s credit, recruiting was one of the major promises he largely kept. On National Signing Day, Penn State signed the No. 1 recruit in Pennsylvania seven times during Franklin’s tenure. Two other times, the top player in the state eventually transferred to Penn State during his era. In a lot of ways, whatever frustrations people may have had with Franklin in other areas, one thing he undeniably delivered was recruiting success.
That is the standard Campbell now inherits.
His start, understandably, has been more difficult. Much of his early work has involved building momentum, restoring relationships, and selling a vision for what Penn State football will look like under his leadership. That is a necessary process for any new head coach, especially one taking over a program that has undergone significant change. The challenge for Campbell is that this relationship-building phase is happening at the same time Pennsylvania is producing one of its strongest recruiting crops in recent memory.
That timing matters.
Since 2004, when major recruiting services such as 247Sports and Rivals began widely ranking prospects, this is the first time Pennsylvania has produced two recruits ranked inside the national top 10. It is also just the second time since 2021 that the state has had three players ranked inside the national top 33. In other words, Campbell is trying to establish Penn State’s footing at a time when there is unusually high-end talent available in its own backyard.
The 2021 comparison is instructive. That year, Nolan Rucci, ranked No. 18 nationally by Rivals, signed with Wisconsin. Kyle McCord, ranked No. 25, signed with Ohio State. Jeremiah Trotter Jr., ranked No. 32, signed with Clemson. Penn State eventually got Rucci through the transfer portal, but that class still stung from a recruiting perspective. Franklin responded by landing the top player in Pennsylvania in each of the next four cycles: Nick Singleton in 2022, J’ven Williams in 2023, Cooper Cousins in 2024, and Andrew Olesh in 2025.
Now Campbell faces a new version of that challenge.
At the top of the current Pennsylvania class are Coatesville offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller, McKeesport running back Kemon Spell, and Downingtown East edge rusher Abraham Sesay. Hiller is the No. 4 overall recruit in the country according to 247Sports. Spell, once committed to Penn State before flipping elsewhere, is now committed to Georgia and ranks No. 7 nationally. Sesay, a fast-rising edge prospect from Exton, is ranked No. 27 overall.
Penn State’s battle for Hiller appears especially steep. At one point, there seemed to be real momentum in State College. During a Penn State camp, Hiller and former Penn State commit Layton Von Brandt even took to social media in a way that suggested they could see themselves joining forces with the Nittany Lions. But Penn State’s difficult 2025 season and the coaching transition that followed opened the door for other programs to make up ground. Since then, Hiller’s recruitment has tilted heavily toward the SEC, with some projections sending him to Florida.
Sesay’s recruitment has felt similar in some ways, though perhaps not quite as far gone. When Nittany Sports Now’s Joe Smeltzer spoke with him in October after Franklin’s firing, Sesay still spoke glowingly about Penn State and the place it occupies in the minds of Pennsylvania recruits.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“As a PA guy, everybody thinks about Penn State when they think of Pennsylvania,” Sesay said. “So a really good, prestigious program, amazing academics, everything across the board. So they were high on my board, and even after the change, I still see very highly of Penn State. I still respect them, and I still see them … they’re still a great program.”
That quote remains important because it speaks to Penn State’s enduring brand strength in-state, even amid transition. But recruiting momentum rarely stays frozen in one moment. Since that interview, several programs have made strong pushes for Sesay, and Notre Dame in particular appears to have positioned itself well. Where Sesay ultimately lands will say a lot about how quickly Campbell can regain traction with elite Pennsylvania talent.
Even so, going 0-for-3 on Hiller, Spell, and Sesay would not mean Penn State is losing its grip on the state altogether.
In fact, there are still several top Pennsylvania recruits with strong Penn State connections, and that is where Campbell’s early in-state work could still pay off in a meaningful way.
Over the weekend, Pine-Richland wide receiver Khalil Taylor made it clear that Penn State sits atop his board. Taylor has been one of the state’s most productive receivers over the last two varsity seasons, scoring 38 total touchdowns across stops at Seton LaSalle and Pine-Richland. His statement gave Penn State an important piece of positive momentum and showed that Campbell’s staff is still making strong impressions on some of the state’s best skill talent.
Penn State also appears well positioned with Owen J. Roberts wide receiver Matthew Gregory. The four-star prospect, ranked No. 7 in Pennsylvania by 247Sports, piled up more than 1,100 yards from scrimmage and 16 total touchdowns last season. He has shown a strong lean toward the Nittany Lions, and landing a player of his caliber would be a major boost for the class.
In the trenches, Archbishop Ryan defensive lineman Stanley Montgomery has emerged as another promising in-state target for Penn State. Ranked No. 5 in Pennsylvania, Montgomery has visited State College five times and seems to have developed strong chemistry with defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe, who has been his primary recruiter. If Penn State closes there, it would be the type of in-state win that reinforces Campbell’s stated emphasis on building from the region outward.
Former Penn State commit Gabe Jenkins, a safety from Imani Christian in Pittsburgh, is another name worth monitoring. Jenkins has shown renewed interest in the Nittany Lions, and the fit makes sense. Campbell’s defensive structure could appeal to a player like Jenkins, particularly in how it utilizes safeties and hybrid defensive pieces. Penn State’s new direction may actually help re-open that door.
Then there is Brandon Lockley Jr. of St. Joseph’s Prep, Rivals’ No. 10 prospect in Pennsylvania. Lockley has become one of Penn State’s stronger leans in a recruitment that has also featured programs such as Oregon and Alabama. Tyson Veidt and Savon Huggins have been the primary Penn State recruiters involved there, and by all indications, the Nittany Lions are in a strong position.
If Campbell and his staff were to land those five players, Taylor, Gregory, Montgomery, Jenkins, and Lockley, Penn State would sign half of the top 10 players in Pennsylvania in what could become a class with as many as 16 four-star prospects. That would be a significant accomplishment in any year, but especially in a transition cycle.
It is also worth remembering that Franklin only signed five or more top-10 Pennsylvania prospects four times during his tenure, in 2015, 2018, 2022, and 2023, according to Rivals. Ironically, in the loaded 2021 class, the only top-10 Pennsylvania player Penn State signed was Lonnie White Jr., who ultimately chose baseball.
So yes, missing on elite headliners hurts. It always does. If Penn State fails to land Hiller, Spell, and Sesay, there will be understandable frustration. Those are exactly the types of players fans want to see stay home.
But before anybody hits the panic button, it is worth looking at the full board.
Campbell may not be dominating the state in the same headline-grabbing way Franklin once promised, at least not yet. But he does appear to be living up to the core of his own message: Penn State is going to attack Pennsylvania aggressively, and there is still a very real path for this staff to build a strong in-state class even if it misses on a few of the very biggest names.
