Glen Mason has coached all over the country, serving as head coach at both Kansas and Minnesota before moving into broadcasting.
Before becoming a head coach, Mason was an assistant at Ohio State, where one of his natural recruiting territories was his home state of New Jersey. During nearly a decade recruiting there, he learned one thing: if Penn State wanted a player from the Garden State, everybody else was usually fighting for second place.
Mason’s experience is beginning to age, but it underscores a larger truth. At one time, Penn State owned New Jersey in recruiting. PSU no longer holds that same stranglehold.
Since 2004, which is as far back as the Rivals recruiting database goes, Penn State has signed New Jersey’s No. 1 overall prospect only twice: offensive lineman Angelo Mangiro in 2011 and receiver Justin Shorter in 2018.
That 2018 cycle, in particular, stands out as one of the more talent-rich New Jersey classes in recent memory. Penn State not only landed Shorter, but also signed the state’s No. 3 prospect, Odafe Oweh, who recently inked a $100 million contract with the Washington Commanders.
But Penn State has lost out on plenty of elite New Jersey talent over the years. Some of the biggest misses have turned into stars elsewhere, including linebacker Brian Cushing at USC, running back Knowshon Moreno at Georgia, defensive backs Minkah Fitzpatrick at Alabama and Jabrill Peppers at Michigan and defensive linemen Rashan Gary at Michigan and Luke Wafle at USC.
Since Penn State signed Shorter in the 2018 cycle, the top-ranked player in New Jersey has gone to either an SEC program five times, Ohio State twice, or USC once, with Wafle continuing that trend in the 2026 class.
That illustrates the challenge in front of new Penn State coach Matt Campbell.
For much of James Franklin’s tenure, New Jersey lagged behind the other major recruiting territories Penn State traditionally relies on. Among the four key states that have largely fueled Penn State’s recruiting footprint, the Nittany Lions converted just 10% of New Jersey’s top-10 prospects into signees during Franklin’s 11 full recruiting classes in State College. That trailed Pennsylvania at 28.2%, Maryland at 17.7% and Virginia at 16.8%. For purposes of this evaluation, Washington, D.C. prospects were split evenly between Maryland and Virginia as part of the broader DMV recruiting region.
If Campbell is going to elevate Penn State’s recruiting ceiling, reviving the Garden State pipeline feels like one of the clearest paths.
When Campbell needed to replace Stan Drayton as running backs coach after Drayton left for South Carolina, he found someone with the background and credibility to potentially help change Penn State’s fortunes in New Jersey: Jackson native Savon Huggins.
“Says a lot about his character, who he is, what he’s about, and it shined through in the interview process,” Campbell said of Huggins on National Signing Day. “We felt like we had a grand slam in terms of getting Savon to come on board and his family. They fit us culturally, and I certainly believe they fit the Penn State way of doing things.”
That endorsement matters, and so does Huggins’ own history.
Huggins was once a five-star running back and the No. 1 player in New Jersey in the 2010 recruiting class before signing with Rutgers. He understands the state, understands its high school football culture, and understands the caliber of player Penn State must beat others for if it wants to reclaim real ground there.
Just as important, Huggins felt a personal connection to Campbell during the hiring process.
“Obviously we talked ball and talked about holistically from a recruiting standpoint, all the other things,” Huggins said. “But he really wanted to know the person, and for me, that’s heartwarming in this profession to find a leader in that position.”
That relationship-first approach could matter in a state where Penn State has history, brand recognition, and alumni pull, but no longer enjoys automatic advantage.
Campbell has already shown early signs that New Jersey will be a priority.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.At the top of that effort is Glassboro athlete Xavier Sabb, the current No. 1 player in the state. Penn State is in a legitimate fight with Rutgers for Sabb, a bona fide five-star talent who moves at a different speed than most players on the field. He flashes major playmaking ability on both sides of the ball, separates easily at the top of routes, and is dangerous in space with the ball in his hands.
Last season, Sabb caught 59 passes for 897 yards and 13 touchdowns. On defense, he added 15 tackles and four interceptions, and he also scored twice on special teams. He is the kind of athlete who changes the perception of an entire class.
Landing Sabb would not erase the sting of losing one of Pennsylvania’s top athletes in Kemon Spell to Georgia, but it would soften it considerably and instantly give Campbell a signature Garden State win.
Penn State is also trying to build around current New Jersey commit Carter Blattner, a fast-rising defensive lineman from Northern Highlands who is rated No. 7 in the state by 247Sports. Blattner could be the foundation of a stronger New Jersey class, but Penn State wants more.
One of the biggest remaining targets is Don Bosco Prep EDGE rusher Aidan O’Neil, who could ultimately finish as a top-10 EDGE prospect nationally. O’Neil has begun to trend toward the Nittany Lions, but Penn State remains in a serious battle with both Kentucky and Notre Dame.
Another major EDGE target is Adekunbi Adetayo of Malcom X Shabazz. Adetayo is rated as a four-star prospect across the industry and has drawn attention for his explosive first step, frame, and overall upside. Penn State is battling a familiar competitor in Virginia Tech for Adetayo’s pledge.
The Nittany Lions are also prioritizing a pair of New Jersey tight ends, a sign of how Campbell and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser envision the position fitting into the offense.
Tommy Douglas, the son of former New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas, plays at the Hun School and has already attracted major SEC interest. Last season, Douglas averaged nearly 20 yards per catch, finishing with 33 receptions for 640 yards.
The other major target is Lawrenceville School standout Sean Currie, whom Mouser is recruiting personally. At 6’7” and 235 pounds, Currie is an imposing athlete who also excels in lacrosse, making him one of the more intriguing multi-sport prospects in the region.
All of this points to the same reality: Campbell understands Penn State cannot afford to let New Jersey continue to drift.
Virginia may become harder terrain to control if Franklin reestablishes strong ties through Virginia Tech. If Penn State starts losing more battles in the “Mother of Presidents,” then New Jersey becomes even more essential as a counterweight.
The Garden State has long produced blue-chip talent, national recruits, and future NFL players. The elite programs know it. That is why many SEC powers, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, and USC keep coming.
Penn State used to be the school that stood tallest there. It has not been that program often enough in recent years.
Now Campbell is trying to change that.
If Penn State is going to reestablish itself as a consistent national recruiting force, New Jersey cannot just be a place where the Nittany Lions occasionally win.
“Oh, huge. Huge. Huge,” Huggins said of the impact of recruiting in New Jersey. “We want the best players in New Jersey to come to Penn State. Like that ain’t no question about that. We want to dominate the state of New Jersey.”
It has to become a place where Penn State once again expects to win. The opportunity is there, the talent is there, and the history is there.
The question now is whether Campbell can turn that history into momentum and make the Garden State a pipeline again instead of a missed opportunity.
