Penn State Football Recruiting: 3 Priority Linebacker targets give insight into their Recruitment

Penn State Football’s class of 2026 which holds eight commitments, may seem like a lot given this young recruiting cycle. However, Penn State has a bit of an imbalance in this class.

There are only three pledged defenders. One edge rusher, one cornerback, and one safety.

While things will certainly sort themselves out between now and signing day, linebacker is an interesting position for the Nittany Lions in this class of 2026. Especially given the loss of Kaden Gebhardt to Clemson, someone I listed as a top 7 most important recruit for Penn State.

This week NittanyCentral spoke with three of Penn State’s linebacker targets to get a feel on where things stand.

The first player who could claim the title of James Franklin’s first 2026 linebacker is Rodney Colton Jr.

Colton Jr. earned a Penn State offer back in October, at the time he was a South Carolina pledge, but later backed off of that commitment and reopened his recruitment in January. Colton Jr. is ranked as the 196th player overall according to 247 sports composite rankings. Not only is Colton Jr. highly ranked, the Newnan Georgia native also has a busy summer lined up. He plans on taking official visits to SMU, UCLA, Penn State, Mizzouri, Tennessee and Colorado.

“I just want to play ball, I wanna get that freshman role.” Colton Jr. told NittanyCentral. “It’s really just even [in my recruitment], like you gotta show me you want me…”. In a perfect world, Colton Jr. would commit to a school after his senior year. But, we don’t always live in an ideal world. He said “I really just wanna do it after the season, but it might be too late so I might commit like… early [after one of my official visits].”

Penn State fans should feel good about Colton Jr.’s recruitment. However, Tennessee and others should play a big factor as well.

---

Potential Four-Star in Penn State’s Sights

The next linebacker that Penn State is well in play for is Virginia prep player, Mathieu Kanu.

Kanu is currently unranked on 247 sports but holds a lofty 4-star rating according to ON3.

After watching his film and talking to Kanu, I truly believe his rankings will only continue to grow from here.

Kanu was offered by Penn State back in November and from there more and more schools got involved. Right now, Kanu told me he has six spring visits planned including one to Penn State on April 5th. For official visits, Virginia Tech and Penn State are on the docket.

Kanu agreed that Penn State and Virginia Tech are probably his top two schools. Kanu added

“Yeah … Penn State mainly.” Kanu also noted his relationship with new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, describing him as “A cool guy, calm and relaxed about his business… knows what he’s talking about.”

This should no doubt give Nittany Nation optimism.

But, it is far from the finish line and Kanu noted how his proximity affects his peer recruitment “I talk to a lot of V Tech guys ‘cuz they’re from our area. No Penn State guys ‘cuz they’re all like so far away to be able to like connect.”

Kanu is pretty clear about it; Penn State is the team to beat right now with Virginia Tech trailing the Nittany Lions.

---

• Buy The Newest Penn State Gear at Fanatics | Shop Penn State Merchandise on Amazon

---

Penn State in The Mix For Most Coveted Linebacker This Class

The third linebacker who spoke with NittanyCentral is Nick Abrams.

The McDonogh product currently sits inside the top 250 players in the nation at 212 according to 247 sports composite rankings. Back in July Penn State was the first Power Four school to offer Abrams.

Abrams said that he is hearing from Tennessee, Texas A&M, Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, and Penn State.

Certainly, an impressive couple of schools to be in touch with. Abrams still hasn’t scheduled any official visits but he plans on visiting Michigan, Oregon, Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, and Penn State for some spring ball.

Abrams is set on a commitment date: His birthday, July 16th.

As of right now there is very little separation between the schools, if any.

“Right now,” Abrams told NittanyCentral. “I don’t really have a leader, but they’ve all shown me why I should be a good fit to come to their school.”

Right now, it seems pretty cluttered for Penn State with Abrams.

Abrams has his pick of the litter and will be visiting a lot of really good schools. However, if there is one thing Penn State fans can hold out hope for it is that Abrams goes to McDonogh. The same school that produced the likes of Dani Dennis-Sutton, D’Von J-Thomas, P.J. Mustipher and Curtis Jacobs.

On top of these three linebackers that Penn State is pursuing, there are others. In-state products Reston Lehman and Terry Wiggins will also be in the cards and likely others as this cycle plays out. All things considered, I think Penn State will be off to a good start at linebacker if they can land any number of Abrams, Kanu or Colton Jr.

MORE Penn State Football News from NittanyCentral:

• Penn State Commit Lavar Keys Opens Up on Why He Chose the Nittany Lions [EXCLUSIVE]
• Debate Rages On Over Whether Penn State is a College Football Blueblood

A note to our readers; If you make a purchase through one of our affiliate links, we may receive a commission