Penn State Football Recruiting: James Franklin’s to-Do List to Secure a Top-10 Class in 2026
March 25th marks the start of spring football for the Nittany Lions, but Penn State Football recruiting is steamrolling at full-speed-ahead on the trail.
This will be James Franklin’s 12th season as Penn State’s leader. Spring football also means that recruiting will pick back up for the Nittany Lions as they host recruits every spring practice.
On this spring ball eve, we will examine what Franklin must do to secure a top 10 class in 2026.
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Inside James Franklin, Penn State Football’s Recruiting Trail Prowess
To look forward, we must look back
Since 2016 Penn State’s average ON3 Industry class ranking is 14th in the nation. The best being the class of 2018, which ranked 5th nationally and had three five-star prospects land in happy Valley. The worst was the 2016 class which fell to 22nd nationally, but did boast 1 five-star.
As I looked back on Franklin’s recruiting classes at Penn State I noticed a striking pattern, every four years he seems to get top 10 classes.
Whether that is planned, coincidence or somewhere in the middle, 2026 is due to be a top 10 class by that pattern. First was the class of 2018, then was the class of 2022, could the class of 2026 be up next? Penn State already has 8 commitments, good for 8th nationally.
But can they finish that high? Or higher? Here is what James Franklin must do to make that happen. (*Not ranked in order of importance)
Keep Joey O’Brien home
This is quintessential for Franklin and Penn State this cycle.
After losing Kaden Gebhardt to Clemson, the La Salle standout safety is probably the most important recruit for Penn State Football.
At 6-foot-5, O’Brien is rated as the 87th best player nationally and second-best in the state of Pennsylvania.
Penn State’s biggest competition for O’Brien seems to be Notre Dame, Clemson, and Tennessee. O’Brien was at Notre Dame this past week and that visit seemingly helped the Fighting Irish a lot. After O’Brien was on campus in South Bend, he went down to Dallas to compete in the OT7 7 on 7 games. The Philly area star had a massive weekend down in Dallas, leading his team Level82 to 2 wins. He also was ranked as the second-best player of the tournament according to ON3.
Penn State must stay in O’Brien’s ear about staying close to home, playing in Jim Knowles’ defense, and the Penn State safety pedigree.
O’Brien will take an official visit to Penn State on May 16th. This will be O’Brien’s first of six official visits. The timing of this visit probably isn’t great. Coming to Penn State and then visiting five other schools probably is not what Penn State wants.
However, I think the Nittany Lions will be in it for O’Brien until the end no matter what happens.
Signing Joey O’Brien is probably one of the biggest steps to securing a top-10 recruiting class.
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Find a Second Quarterback
Right now, Penn State has one quarterback committed.
That quarterback is California’s Troy Huhn.
Huhn has been on board with Penn State since June of 2024, with a 4-star rating. Huhn looks like a pretty solid prospect for the Nittany Lions, but there is a need for a second quarterback in the class of 2026.
Penn State has not signed a two-quarterback class since Beau Pribula and Drew Allar signed in 2022.
However, given Pribula’s transfer, Allar’s last year of eligibility, and 2025 signee Bekkem Kritza’s developmental path, there is certainly room for another quarterback for the Nittany Lions.
Two main options stick out for me for Penn State.
Gavin Sidwar or Peyton Falzone are two names who could be the second signal caller in this class.
Both Keystone state quarterbacks have been in contact with Penn State. Sidwar spent the weekend in Dallas competing in 7 on 7. Sidwar is probably the more traditional pocket passer of the two. He shows nice touch on his deep ball and has solid mobility in the pocket. Falzone, meanwhile a very gifted athlete and shows phenomenal potential as a quarterback.
Falzone is currently training with quarterback coach Brad Maendler. Maendler has Penn State connections, as he trained Drew Allar and Ethan Grunkemeyer. Falzone will visit Happy Valley on March 27th.
Whether it is Falzone, Sidwar, or someone completely out of left field, Penn State will likely need to pair another quarterback with Troy Huhn.
Land at least one of the DMV’s elite elites
There is a wealth of talent in Penn State’s recruiting footprint this cycle. Probably one of the most loaded areas is the DMV.
There are three prospects that Penn State needs to sign at least one of.
The first is the second-overall player in the country (according to ON3 Industry rankings), offensive lineman Immanuel Iheanacho out of Baltimore.
The highly coveted Iheanacho has been to Penn State three times and will take an official visit on June 13th. Understandably, Iheanacho has nearly every school recruiting him.
Right now, Penn State is in the mix and will need to roll out the red carpet for him when he comes to campus in June.
The second is Maryland commit, fourth overall player, EDGE Zion Elee.
Elee recently locked down his recruitment. However, I need to see pen to paper on signing day before I count the Nittany Lions out of Elee’s recruitment. He was at Penn State back in November and Penn State will stay on him until signing day to try to pry him away from the Terps.
The third elite DMV player is EDGE Carter Meadows. Meadows is likely to earn a fifth star within the next few months.
The Gonzaga product recently visited UNC, Northwestern, and Michigan. He will likely pop up in State College in the next couple of weeks too.
Penn State has solidified itself as a player for Meadows. James Franklin will need to land at least one of these blue chip prospects. The most likely would seem to be Meadows and least likely Elee. However, Penn State needs one of these DMV products to bolster it’s class of 2026 to top ten status.
Land another Cornerback
Penn State already has one cornerback commitment, New Jersey native, Julian Peterson.
Terry Smith would love nothing better than to pair him up with Khary Adams. Adams is probably the top cornerback remaining on Penn State’s cornerback board. Adams checks in as the 58th-best player in the country in 2026.
Adams will visit South Carolina, Clemson, Oregon and Michigan for spring practice. He also has officials lined up to Auburn, South Carolina, Penn State, Notre Dame, USC and Oregon.
After losing Maryland native Brandon Finney to Oregon last year, the Nittany Lions must retain Khary Adams.
Adams would be a massive boost to the secondary for Penn State in 2026.
Penn State should benefit from being the closest school that is recruiting Adams hard. Adams will be a key prospect for Nittany Nation to keep an eye on this cycle. If Penn State can add Adams that only help Penn State try to secure a top ten recruiting class.
Add Offensive Line Depth
Is a recruiting class really elite without good offensive linemen? Penn State is anchored pretty well in the trenches with Kevin Brown committed.
Brown is ranked as the fourth-best interior offensive lineman in the country.
However, it will take more than one elite offensive lineman to make Penn State’s 2026 class elite.
In addition to Iheanacho, some names that make sense for Penn State are Grayson McKeogh, Darius Gray, and Gregory Patrick.
McKeogh recently told me that he will visit Penn State and Duke for spring ball, while he looks to finalize a few other visits. Gray is the 31st best player in the nation and will visit Penn State in June.
Patrick recently just trimmed his list to Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State. Not only will Penn State be seeking to sign these three lineman, but there will likely be more offensive line targets to pop up as the cycle unfolds.
Getting more quality offensive lineman will be a must for Phil Trautwein and James Franklin in this 2026 class.
Round Out the Receiver Core
Penn State currently holds the pledge of receivers Jahsiear Rogers and Lavar Keys. Both are guys I’m bullish on.
Rogers’ film oozes with talent and I think he can be a star at Penn State in the future. Keys also shows a lot of potential and is embracing being a leader of the recruiting class.
But, Penn State will need more than just Rogers and Keys services.
One player James Franklin has been recruiting is top 200, Virginia native, Davion Brown.
Brown told me recently that he is hearing most from Penn State, Virginia Tech and Georgia. He also said he will make it up to Penn State on April 25th.
Two other names that Marques Hagans will still have a chance to land are Travis Johnson and Penn State decommit Jerquaden Guilford. Johnson is a big-bodied receiver that Penn State has lacked over recent years.
The Virginia native is one who could help the Nittany Lions at wideout. Even though Guilford backed off his commitment to the Nittany Lions in February, I have heard from a source that they are still recruiting him. Penn State must add one or two more high-level receivers if they want to make it into the top 10 in the class of 2026.
If James Franklin can keep Joey O’Brien home, get another quarterback, land a DMV elite, add Khary Adams, boost the O line, and get more wide receiver help, Penn State fans will be in love with this class of 2026.
If Franklin and staff can pull off those six things, Penn State will certainly have a top-10 class in 2026.
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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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