You’ve seen the rankings. You’ve probably refreshed the 247Sports or On3 homepages more times than you’d care to admit. But honestly, the way we talk about Penn State football recruiting 2025 is kinda broken. Everyone focuses on the star count, the "average player rating," and whether James Franklin—or now Matt Campbell, after that wild 2025 coaching carousel—can finally crack the top five.
It's a numbers game. Mostly.
But what actually happened with the 2025 cycle wasn't just about out-dueling Ohio State for a four-star linebacker. It was a massive exercise in roster preservation and, eventually, a total culture shift. Most people see a No. 13 or No. 15 national ranking and think "solid, but not elite." They’re missing the point. This class wasn't built to win a beauty pageant in February; it was built to survive the most chaotic year in the program's modern history.
The Andrew Olesh Flip and "Tight End U"
Let’s talk about Andrew Olesh for a second. If you followed the 2025 cycle, his recruitment was basically a soap opera. The kid from Southern Lehigh was committed to Michigan. It felt like another local star slipping away. Then, in December, he flipped.
That one move changed the entire vibe of the class. Olesh isn’t just another body; he’s a consensus five-star talent who chose Happy Valley specifically because of how they use guys like Tyler Warren and Theo Johnson. When he signed, it solidified Penn State’s claim as "Tight End U." He joined a room that already had Luke Reynolds and Andrew Rappleyea. That is an absurd amount of talent for one position group.
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Why the "Blue-Collar" Narrative is Sorta Real
There’s this trope that Penn State recruits "high-floor" guys rather than "high-ceiling" superstars. It’s a bit of a backhanded compliment. But look at Malachi Goodman. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound offensive lineman from Paramus Catholic was a late riser who eventually earned that fifth star from some outlets. He’s the definition of a cornerstone.
- Malachi Goodman (OT): The literal big fish. He picked Penn State over Bama and Georgia. That doesn't happen by accident.
- Daryus Dixson (CB): A Mater Dei product. Getting a kid from that powerhouse to come East is a massive recruiting win for the secondary.
- Alex Tatsch (LB): The quintessential Penn State linebacker. Local, rangy, and hits like a truck.
People get hung up on the fact that Penn State didn't have five or six "consensus" five-stars. But you've gotta look at the density of the 2025 class. We’re talking about 20 four-star prospects. That’s a lot of guys who are expected to start by their sophomore years.
The 2025 Coaching Chaos and the Matt Campbell Era
Here is where it gets weird. Most of the 2025 class committed while James Franklin was the head coach. But as we saw in late 2025, things unraveled. Franklin was fired in October. The early signing day in December was a ghost town compared to previous years. Only a few guys, like QB Peyton Falzone and edge rusher Jackson Ford, actually put pen to paper during that initial December window.
When Matt Campbell took over, the Penn State football recruiting 2025 effort turned into a salvage operation. Campbell didn't just look at high schoolers; he basically brought half of Ames, Iowa, with him. The 2025 roster was overhauled via the transfer portal because so many 2025 signees were looking at the door.
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Honestly, the "class of 2025" is now a mix of the original high school signees who stayed and the 39 transfers Campbell brought in to plug the holes. It’s a Frankenstein’s monster of a roster.
The Mid-State Connection: Keeping PA Kids Home
One thing Franklin did right before the wheels fell off was locking down the state. For a while there, it felt like every top-ten player in Pennsylvania was Nittany Lion bound.
- Tikey Hayes (RB): The Aliquippa star. You don't lose kids from Quip Town if you want to keep your job.
- Brady O’Hara (OL/TE): A massive human from North Catholic. He represents that "big athlete" profile Campbell loves.
- Jabree Wallace-Coleman (RB): Out of Imhotep. Explosive.
The struggle is always the same: how do you stop Ohio State from poaching the elite Philly kids? In 2025, Penn State held their own. They didn't win every battle, but they won enough to keep the foundation of the program "local."
What Most People Get Wrong About Class Rankings
Total points don't win games. Fit does.
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Everyone looks at the "Team Ranking" on signing day. Oh, look, Penn State is 15th! That must mean they are the 15th best team, right? Wrong.
Recruiting rankings are a volume game. If you take 28 kids, your score is higher than a team that takes 18 elite kids. In 2025, Penn State took a big class. They needed bodies. With 50 players leaving the program via the portal after the 2025 season, that 2025 recruiting class became the lifeblood of the "new" Nittany Lions.
If you want to understand the health of the program, don't look at the star average. Look at the "Enrolled" list. Fourteen of these guys, including LaVar Arrington II (yes, that Arrington’s son) and Jeff Exinor Jr., enrolled early. They were in the building for the spring of 2025. That head start is worth more than a fourth star in some scout's notebook.
Actionable Insights for the 2026 Cycle
If you’re a fan or a donor trying to make sense of where this goes next, here are the real "next steps" for Penn State recruiting:
- Watch the Iowa State pipeline: Matt Campbell is going to continue recruiting the Midwest and his former players. This isn't a temporary thing; it's the new identity.
- Monitor the 2026 Early Enrollees: We already have 11 early enrollees for the 2026 class. The transition from the "2025 disaster" to the "Campbell rebuild" is happening faster than people realize.
- Evaluate the "Position of Need" over "Star Power": Penn State desperately needs wide receivers. If the 2025 class failed anywhere, it was in not landing a true "Alpha" receiver. Watch how the staff uses the portal to fix this in the coming months.
- Support the NIL Collectives: Whether we like it or not, the average NIL value for a Penn State recruit is around $200k. To compete with Ohio State and Oregon (who are pushing $230k+), the "Happy Valley United" collective has to stay aggressive.
The 2025 cycle was a bridge. It started under one regime and finished under another. It survived a head coaching change, a portal mass-exodus, and a total shift in offensive philosophy. It’s not the highest-ranked class in history, but it might be the most important one James Franklin—and Matt Campbell—ever assembled.