“I’m Putting On My Recruiting Cap” 4-Star QB Peyton Falzone Opens Up on Becoming a Leader of Penn State’s 2026 Class
This past Saturday, Penn State Football picked up their second Quarterback in the class of 2026 when Nazareth Area 4-star, Peyton Falzone announced his commitment to Penn State.
Falzone was someone the Nittany Lions had been recruiting, but he was not necessarily someone who was on my radar to announce a commitment this past weekend. Either way, head coach James Franklin and company are happy to have Falzone pledged to Happy Valley.
Additionally, Falzone is glad to be a member of the 2026 class.
“I’m happy that the stress is removed from the situation” Falzone told NittanyCentral on Monday, describing how he is glad to move from recruit to commit. “I’m putting on my recruiting cap now and now I’m just going to go out there and build up Penn State’s class, and I’m going to have a ton of fun doing it with other guys.”
(Photo courtesy of Peyton Falzone)
The trigger to all of the dominos falling and Falzone announcing his commitment to Penn State was a call that Falzone got from James Franklin two weeks ago.
“Well, a big thing was, about two weeks ago, Coach Franklin called and offered me as a Quarterback,” Falzone explained. “Not as an athlete, as a Quarterback, and that kind of changed the whole landscape of my recruitment process with them.”
There is no doubt that Falzone is a Quarterback. “I am a Quarterback and I wanted to play that at the next level …”
Penn State Became an Easy Choice for Peyton Falzone
The choice to stay close to home at Penn State became very clear for Falzone after getting the offer as a Quarterback.
“It just came down to if [they] offer me as that, that changes my outlook on the situation,” Falzone said. “If I can stay close to home, be playing at the highest level of football and it’s been my dream. I mean, I grew up going to Penn State games when I who knows how many years old. But, I’ve just been going there ever since and I’m so happy to be a part of the family.”
But, what is Peyton Falzone looking forward to the most at Penn State?
There are a lot of things, but having family atmosphere is a big one for him.
“I’m really looking forward to just being a part of [the family],” Falzone explained. “It’s a family out there, that’s like one of the main reasons I picked [Penn State].”
Franklin has created a very deep family atmosphere in Happy Valley.
“You wanna talk about a family atmosphere,” Falzone said of the program Franklin has built in Happy Valley. “It’s close to home, my family can go out there and watch me play at all my games. To the same point, what Coach Franklin has in the office, between the coaches and the players, just the relationships there, you can’t get them anywhere else.”
“[Coach Franklin] puts the players first… He wants us to be in the best position possible to go win big games, compete for national titles, and that’s just really exciting because they’re going to be doing that every single year.”
Falzone’s Hard Work Pays Off
Since the 2025 calendar year bagan, Falzone has been making the 14-hour round trip to Ohio to train with Quarterback Coach Brad Maendler.
Maendler had high praise for Falzone, saying “He’s without a doubt the best athlete I’ve ever worked with.” Which, when you consider Maendler has coached Penn State Quarterbacks Drew Allar and Ethan Grunkemeyer, that is pretty high praise.
“…For him to say something like that, it really means so much…” Falzone said.
Peyton Falzone’s trips to Ohio have definitely paid off for him.
“Coach Franklin said it’s just like all the work I’ve been putting in to get to the position I’m in now. You know, making the 14 hour round trips out to go see Coach Maendler. I mean he (James Franklin) said ‘I don’t know anybody else that is doing that, going to get better at Quarterback like that and willing to sacrifice it all’ and that’s exactly what I’m about.”
Falzone is talented, but maybe even more importantly, he works extremely hard.
“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get better at that position” Falzone says. “And that’s what I’m doing right now…”
Maendler has certainly helped Falzone improve his craft.
“I owe a lot of it to Coach Brad,” Falzone points out. “I mean he’s changed my game and he’s just turned me into a different player than what I was in the fall and I’m just so grateful for him.”
Peyton Falzone Talks Future
With Penn State already having a 2026 Quarterback committed, I asked Falzone about that. He was more than happy to team up with Troy Huhn.
“We’ve texted back and forth (Falzone and Huhn) and [I’m] glad to be on board,” Falzone explains. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. Obviously, he’s a great Quarterback. There’s a reason he’s committed there in the first place. I’m excited just to compete with him and make each other better.”
Not only is Falzone excited to team up with Huhn and the rest of the Penn State class, he is also excited for this summer.
His first order of business is competing at the Elite11 Showcase in State College. Elite11 is probably the most well-known Quarterback showcase circuit in the country, and they come to State College in May.
“First and foremost,” Falzone said. “My focus is going to go to Elite11. It’s an honor to be selected to go compete there. [I’m] going to be competing against the best in the country. I just wanna go there and be a sponge and soak up as much as I can because all these coaches have so much experience and I’d be silly to not sit there and listen to them… All I wanna do is learn about Quarterbacks and stuff like that…”
The next big thing after Elite11 for Falzone? His final year of high school football.
“…Then I got my focus on my team. It’s crazy to think that I got one more season left with my brothers. I grew up with these guys and we played sports together and we had so much fun… I’m just going to enjoy this last season,” Falzone said.
Penn State Football is getting a highly talented, highly motivated, in-state star.
MORE Penn State Football News from NittanyCentral:
- BREAKING: 2026 Quarterback Peyton Falzone Commits to Penn State Football
- 5 Positions Penn State Could Pursue in the Spring Transfer Portal
- 2026 OL Recaps Penn State Visit
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Purdy was born and raised in central Ohio and served for four years writing for his high school's newsletter. Currently studying Biblical Studies at Lancaster Bible College in Pennsylvania, Ian has been a lifelong Nittany Lion fan.
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