Penn State Football is off to an excellent start in the 2025 recruiting cycle, but can the Nittany Lions sustain the success?
Penn State currently has the No. 6 recruiting class in the nation with 11 commits already in the class. Under James Franklin, the Nittany Lions have notoriously gotten off to hot starts in recruiting only to fall in the rankings later in the cycle once other teams start to build up their classes.
What Penn State Football Must do To Sign Top-10 Class
Land 5-star QB Matt Zollers
One of the top quarterbacks in the nation is in the NIttany Lions’ own state.
Matt Zollers from Royersford is rising up the rankings, with On3 recently ranking him as the No. 17 overall recruit. He put out a top group of Penn State, Pitt, Georgia and Missouri and plans to make a decision in the coming months. It’s not often that Pennsylvania has a quarterback of this magnitude, Penn State cannot let him leave the state.
Dominate the State
Zollers falls under this category as well, but considering his rankings, he’s put in a tier of his own.
There are other in-state recruits that the Nittany Lions need to keep home in order to keep the class in the top ten. That group includes 4-star tight end Andrew Olesh from Southern Lehigh, 4-star offensive lineman Michael Carroll from Doylestown and 4-star wide receiver Lex Cyrus from Harrisburg.
All three of these recruits would be cornerstones of Penn State’s 2025 class and help the Nittany Lions on the field down the road.
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Bring Home Elite Safety Duo
Penn State Football is currently in the thick of it for two of the best safety recruits on the East Coast.
The first is 4-star Kainoa Winston, cousin of current Penn State safety K.J. Winston, from Washington D.C. The other is 4-star JaDon Blair from North Carolina.
The competition is stiff for both, with Ohio State, Notre Dame and others after Winston and Notre Dame and Michigan in the mix for Blair. Penn State has improved its safety play under Anthony Poindexter, putting the Nittany Lions in good position with this duo.
Swing Big with Ty Jackson
Penn State already has an excellent linebacker haul in the 2025 class with three 4-stars committed, but the Nittany Lions could put a pretty big bow on that group with Ty Jackson.
Recently ranked as the No. 16 overall recruit by On3, Jackson is one of the best uncommitted linebackers in the country. The Florida native is listed at 6-foot and 200 pounds and holds an impressive offer sheet. The other main competitors for Jackson are Florida State, Tennessee and Georgia.
Penn State has done well recruiting Florida, mostly thanks to the efforts of running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider, so this is not an impossible pull. Jackson is slated to officially visit Penn State on May 31.
Penn State will have to add around the edges to the 2025 class to secure a top ten finish, but these are the four main steps the Nittany Lions will have to complete in order to have a realistic chance to not only break the top ten, but make a run at the top five.
MORE: 5 Breakout Stars to Watch for Penn State in 2024
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