Penn State Football Recruiting: Post Visit Nuggets

After Penn State Football’s recruiting tear last weekend, one in which they landed an elite 2027 wideout, the Nittany Lions are back at it this week. Penn State Football spring football practices are on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Penn State hosted numerous good prospects on Tuesday of this week, but this weekend is when most of James Franklin‘s top targets are slated to come to town.

Just like last week, I will be updating this article as more reactions, thoughts and news rolls in.

As always follow us on X and all other social media platforms for the latest Penn State news (NittanyCentral) (Ian Purdy).

Update #1 4/5/25 8:35p (’26 Garrett Witherington)

Update #2 4/5/25 10:00p (’26 Kaden Carter & ’27 Cameron Wagner)

Update #3 4/7/25 7:45p (‘26 Lavar Keys & ‘27 Oluwasemilore Olubobola)

Update #4 4/7/25 10:20p (’26 Nick Abrams)

Class of 2026 Talks Penn State Visits

Photo courtesy of Nick Abrams

2026 LB Nick Abrams (McDonogh; MD)

A priority linebacker made it to campus this weekend. McDonogh feature, Nick Abrams was able to visit State College on Friday and Saturday. The Nittany Lion’s seemed to have left a good impression on Abrams. Abrams, who recently cut his list to a top 5 of Michigan, Alabama, Penn State, Georgia, and Oregon had good things to say about Penn State.

“The visit was really good.” Said Abrams. “Got there, had dinner with Alan Zemaitis and Kenny Sanders on Friday. But then Saturday was more football stuff. I got to see Coach Knowles in the meeting, I got to see the intensity at practice.”

Abrams also said he talked to James Franklin. “I got to meet with Coach Franklin and Coach Connor so it was all very informative. Very good visit, just, in general.”

One cool part of Abrams’s visit was getting to meet with a Penn State legend, Abdul Carter. Abrams described it this way. “It was great. Just talking to him for a little bit, you know, just [Carter] giving me his Penn State pitch, stix city pitch…” He continued. “It was great to see… They had a presentation [on] how he was the number 32 linebacker in the country and he’s now projected to be a top two pick. So it’s pretty cool just to see his journey, talk to him and how down to earth he is and we just kinda compare myself to him as well.”

Penn State seems to have done a good job with Abrams on the visit. As for Abrams, he will continue to make his spring visits and eventually set up official visits. The Nittany Lion’s should be in this one until the very end, when Abrams will announce his commitment on his birthday, July 16th.

2026 WR Lavar Keys (Dematha Catholic; MD) PSU COMMIT

One of Penn State’s committed players, Lavar Keys made another visit to State College. Keys has been locked in with Penn State for a long time and that does not appear to be changing.

Keys said “The visit was amazing, love seeing the guys compete and get better. Everybody got coached up. The love was amazing just felt like home and I’m just ready to get there.” Penn State is excited about Keys too. The Dematha product helped lead them to a WCAC championship last fall. He and Dematha will look to build off of that.

Speaking of winning championships, Keys praised Penn State saying. “The team (Penn State), looked amazing, they are going to win a National Championship.” He continued. “Specially with the way they been competing against each other and everybody just look ready and is looking forward to the season.”

The part of practice that Keys watched the most was his position group: the wideouts. “I watched every offense of part with the Wide Receivers, each in special teams or indy or even routes on air, really everywhere I’ll see myself at in the next 2 years” Keys said.

The Nittany Lions are getting a fully committed and extremely underrated prospect in Lavar Keys.

2026 LB Kaden Carter (Lamar County; GA)

Saturday, a Georgia Linebacker came up to State College for a visit. Kaden Carter from Lamar County High School, raved about his time in Happy Valley. He even went as far as to crown them as the team setting the pace in his recruitment right now.

“They (Penn State) are number 1 right now.” Said Carter, who is being recruited by an assortment of schools. He told me that some of those other schools in his recruitment right now are “Kansas, Michigan, Penn state Georgia tech, Mississippi state.” These schools could certainly give Penn State some competition, but Penn State is firmly in the lead for Carter.

He went on to talk about watching “the whole practice” and saying that the coaches he talks to the most from Penn State are Coach Connor, Coach Zemaitias, and Coach Franklin.

Penn State is in a good spot with Carter right now.

2026 CB Dylan Abram (Monsignor Bonner; PA)

One Penn State recruit who has family ties with Penn State made it out to Happy Valley on Thursday evening. Dylan Abram, a standout from Philadelphia made the short trip over to State College. Abram’s uncle Kyle Carter played Tight End at Penn State from 2011-2015.

Abram described the visit saying. “The visit was great, I was mainly watching the DB group.” Abram said that the coach he was in contact with the most was Coach Terry Smith. He also told NittanyCentral how he loves Penn State. “I loved it up there, I’ve been around Penn State since I was younger due to my uncle Kyle Carter going there.”

The future for Abram is bright. He said he is close to choosing a top 5 in his recruitment. He also detailed his visit schedule. “I plan on going to Rutgers, Virginia Tech, and back up to Happy Valley in the summer time.”

Right now, for the Nittany Lions, there is a little bit of build up at the cornerback spot. Penn State is still waiting on Khary Adams, CJ Bronaugh and Brandon Arrington to make their decisions before Penn State has a clear picture. It will be interesting to see what Abram does with Penn State and what Penn State does with him.

2026 DL Garrett Witherington (Briarwood Christian; AL)

Photo courtesy of Garrett Witherington

An intriguing defensive prospect was in town for the Nittany Lions on Saturday. Defensive lineman Garrett Witherington made the trip up from Alabama to see State College on Saturday. The southerner enjoyed his time in Happy Valley.

“It went great.” Witherington said. “Loved everything from start to finish.” Witherington also noted that he spent the most time with Coach Torrence Brown.

Evidently, Penn State was impressed with Witherington making the trip. “They loved and [were] excited that I came up all the way from Alabama.” Penn State’s most recent Alabama signee is current junior linebacker, DaKaari Nelson. Alabama is a surprisingly a state that Penn State has been more involved with than what meets the eye.

Witherington talked about the leader(s) in his recruitment this way. “I don’t have a leader but they (Penn State) are definitely up there.” Witherington also told me that he does not have any other spring visits set up but he will take official visits to Stanford, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Penn State, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.

Penn State has a chance with Witherington. The Nittany Lions are probably in a position to take three defensive lineman. Hypothetically the three could be Witherington, Alex Haskell, and a blue chipper like Aiden Harris or Keyshawn Stancil. There are a lot of official visits on the board for Witherington, but Penn State is in a good spot with the Alabama product.

2027 Prospects Rehash Their Time in Happy Valley

Photo courtesy of Peyton Miller.

2027 OL Cameron Wagner (St. Joseph-Ogden; IL)

Penn State hosted an out of state 2027 lineman on Saturday. Cameron Wagner from Saint Joseph, Illinois made the trip to State College. Wagner left State College impressed.

“I mean it was great. I had a lot of fun.” Wagner said. “… I toured the locker room and the rest of the facility that I hadn’t seen at that point and then we had a meeting with Coach Franklin that lasted probably, 30 minutes.” The facilitiy at Penn State was up to Wagner’s standard. “Yeah they were obviously super nice and like, they’re just top of the line. I really liked all of them.” Wagner said.

Penn State seemed to reciprocate the interest to Wagner. “They just want me because they were like ‘we love your film’ and they really liked my length and how I can bend for being so big at a young age and my flexibility.” Wagner detailed.

The Illinois product isn’t ready to make any sort of recruiting decisions just yet. After all, Wagner still has plenty of time before the class of 2027 commences in college. However, Wagner did tell me he is looking for a family atmosphere and that Penn State stood out to him.

The Nittany Lions will look to continue recruiting the 2027 prospect.

2027 OL Peyton Miller (Anna; TX)

One of Penn State Football’s top 2027 offensive line recruits was in town for spring practice on Thursday. The Lone Star statesman, Peyton Miller, talked to NittanyCentral about his time in Happy Valley.

Miller made the trip up to Penn State and had a good experience. He said “It was pretty great, I mean, it was my first time being at Penn State and everybody talks about how great it is and it definitely lived up to it.” Miller was also impressed with the coaching staff. “It was pretty amazing to see everything and get to talk to Coach Franklin and Coach Trautwein and get to experience what the guys go through on a day to day basis. So, it was pretty great.”

Andy Kotelnicki also spent time with Miller. Miller said Kotelnicki’s message to him was this: “We were just talking about what I’m looking for in a college program and how would I fit into their program and stuff like that so we got to chat up a little about that.” Miller said that Penn State attracts a certain type of person. “I think Penn State really attracts me and [Andy Kotelnicki] says it takes a hard working person to come up here and play. So, he said that I fit that narrative pretty well…”

Miller plans to visit Florida State next weekend. He also plans on visiting Texas Tech and Baylor. Miller is a top target for Penn State in this blooming 2027 cycle and they will continue to pursue the Texas standout.

2027 OL Oluwasemilore Olubobola (St. Peter’s Prep; NJ)
Another young offensive lineman who was on campus Thursday was New Jersey’s Oluwasemilore Olubobola. Olu enjoyed his visit to Penn State.

“The visit went well and I liked it a lot” Olubobola said. “I really I enjoyed seeing every thing up close.” Olubobola went onto describe the James Franklin’s program saying “I would describe penn state as a big-time football school with a strong tradition.”

Olubobola said that he spent most of his time talking to Coach Naz Oliver. Oliver is a fellow New Jersey native himself. This could be a pivotal connection for the Nittany Lions going forward.

The 6-6 offensive lineman said that Penn State emphasized development. “They really emphasized development both on and off the field. They talked about how they can help me grow as a player.” This is something that should help Penn State in Olubobola’s recruitment. Phil Trautwein has developed quite a name for himself developing elite offensive linemen.

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Ian Purdy

Penn State Football Recruiting Analyst at NittanyCentral

Ian Purdy covers Penn State Football Recruiting for NIttanyCentral.

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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