Penn State Football Recruiting: Meet Target James Franklin Calls 'Must Get'

Penn State Football and head coach James Franklin just wrapped up its 2024 class, ranking 14th in the nation with 25 overall commits, including 16 blue chip prospects, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

Penn State Football, Penn State Football Recruiting, James Franklin — Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

However, recruiting never stops in college football and Penn State is already well on its way to filling the 2025 recruiting class, holding eight commitments in the 2025 class already at the end of January.

After hosting two junior days the past two weekends, the Nittany Lions are looking to build this 2025 class that ranks seventh in the nation. During these junior days, Penn State was able to get one of the most important pieces of the 2025 puzzle onto campus again in four-star interior offensive lineman Michael Carroll.

A Doylestown, Pennsylvania native playing at Central Bucks East, Carroll ranks as the seventh-best player in Pennsylvania and the 16th-ranked interior offensive lineman in the 2025 class according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

The 6-foot-5 inch, 290-pound interior offensive lineman Carroll ranks 242 overall in the class of 2025 according to the ranking as well.

After visiting State College during Penn State’s junior day the last weekend in January, Carroll caught up with Lions247 to discuss his visit and gave an interesting assessment from the Penn State staff.

In talking about his visit to Penn State, Carroll told Lions247 that James Franklin considered Carroll a “must get” prospect for Penn State in the 2025 class.

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Why Penn State Football is All in On Michael Carroll

Penn State Football, Drew Allar — Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports)

Carroll is also a legacy recruit, with his father playing linebacker for Penn State in the 1990s under former head coach Joe Paterno.

Carroll’s mother also played basketball at Big Ten rival Michigan State, so Carroll comes from quite the Big Ten pedigree.

Composite 4⭐️ IOL Michael Carroll visited Penn State this past weekend and said he was told by the coaches that he was a ‘must get’ prospect.

The Central Bucks East (PA.) product is the son of former PSU LB Michael Carroll Sr.

STORY: https://t.co/6OgKqrDTwq pic.twitter.com/iaZYulShCZ

— 247Sports (@247Sports) January 31, 2024

Carroll holds 17 offers, including Big Ten offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Rutgers, Wisconsin, and Maryland, in addition to the offer from Penn State Football.

He also holds intriguing SEC offers from Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Texas A&M.

Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, Carroll’s main recruiter in Happy Valley, has been on fire on the recruiting trail the past few years, securing commitments from four offensive linemen in the 2023 and 2024 classes, including six top 200 overall players and seven blue chip prospects at the position, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

Where Penn State’s OL Class Stands

In 2025, as of February 1st, Penn State Football holds one offensive line commit from massive Connecticut offensive tackle Owen Aliciene and holds commitments from three in-state players (tight end Brady O’Hara, running back Tiqwai Hayes, and cornerback Xxavier Thomas).

According to 247Sports, last weekend’s visit was Carroll’s fifth visit to State College during his recruitment.

Carroll most recently visited during the West Virginia game last September. In addition to Penn State, Carroll has visited Temple and Rutgers according to 247Sports.

With plenty of time to build the relationship with Carroll, Penn State and offensive line coach Phil Trautwein have done a great job of prioritizing Carroll and making him feel like a key piece in the 2025 class.