Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1535618
J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 5 47 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M aim high down the stretch and try to land one of a handful of national players who have shown genuine interest. In the spring, Penn State hosted two notable four-star prospects in Rodney Colton of Newman, Ga., the No. 290 player and No. 21 linebacker in the coun- try, and Elijah Littlejohn of Charlotte, N.C., the nation's No. 29 linebacker. They won't be easy to land, but both have spoken highly of Penn State's LBU tradition. It's also worth keeping an eye on Ellis Alloway of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and Kosi Okpala, who lives outside of Hous- ton. Alloway is a three-star prospect whom Penn State identified in January, while Okpala has received a four-star grade and is considered On3's No. 195 prospect and No. 11 linebacker in his class. Many believe Okpala is destined to end up at Texas, but Penn State is in the mix. He and Alloway have struggled to travel on their own, so these upcoming official visits could give Penn State a chance to create some momentum. Cornerback Penn State believes it found a good one in three-star New Jersey native Julian Peterson, but that won't keep position coach Terry Smith from being aggressive down the stretch. The three main play- ers to watch are Khary Adams of Towson, Md.; Dorian Barney of Carrollton, Ga.; and Jaziel Hart of Roanoke, Va. All three hold four-star ratings from On3. Adams is particularly notable. Penn State emerged last fall as the team to beat, but he saw his scholarship count more than double in January, a surge that coincided with a massive jump in the rankings. He's now listed by On3 as the No. 31 prospect nationally and No. 4 cor- nerback. Adams took an official visit to Penn State in mid-May, but Oregon and Notre Dame are the Nittany Lions' key competitors. Barney is rated by On3 as the nation's No. 34 cornerback, while Hart is listed 35th at the position. Four-star cornerback Camren Hamiel of Goodyear, Ariz., and five-star pros- pect Brandon Arrington of Spring Val- ley, Calif., have already taken official visits to Penn State. Arrington is listed as the nation's top cornerback in the On3 Industry Ranking, which incor- porates the grades of all four major re- cruiting websites. Both he and Hamiel, On3's No. 279 player and No. 28 cor- nerback, will be very difficult to sign, however. Safety With Western Pennsylvania natives Matt Sieg and David Davis already com- mitted, Penn State has an opportunity to sweep the top in-state safety talent. It won't be easy, though. Joey O'Brien of La Salle College High in suburban Phil- adelphia has emerged as one of the most coveted players in the country, ranking No. 100 overall, No. 8 at safety and No. 2 in Pennsylvania, per On3. An official visit to PSU the weekend of May 16-18 went well, but O'Brien has ad- ditional trips planned to Clemson, Notre Dame, Oregon and Tennessee. The Nit- tany Lions have no shortage of serious competition. ■ 2026 Prospect Set To Join Penn State This Summer Princeton (W.Va.) defensive end Daniel Jennings became one of the first prospects in the 2026 class to commit to Penn State, doing so last summer. He'll be ahead of the curve in the next phase of the process as well. Jennings told On3's Steve Wiltfong in mid-May that he is going through the steps of reclassifying to the 2025 class. BWI has confirmed that Jennings has signed with the Nit- tany Lions and has completed nearly all of his high school graduation requirements with the intention of enrolling at PSU this summer. "Everything has gone through compliance," Jennings told On3. "I just have one class and exam I have to finish." The 6-foot-2, 225-pound prospect received a four-star grade from On3 and was listed as the No. 160 overall player and No. 23 edge rusher in the 2026 class. Jennings ran for over 1,300 yards and scored 23 touch- downs as a running back last fall. On defense, he had 12.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in an all-state junior year. "When you show him how to fix something, he does it almost automatically," Princeton head coach Keith Taylor said. "He's extremely coachable. Anything he struggles with, he fixes it next week, and that's something we're really proud of. He's starting to become more of a leader, too, which is great to see." Charles Power, On3's director of scouting and rankings, said Jennings' athletic profile is reminiscent of previous Penn State defensive ends. "I like him a good bit, and I think once he focuses just on playing defense, you're going to see him take a leap from a technique perspective," Power noted. "From a projection standpoint, when you look at the athleticism he shows on offense and his ability to run sideline-to-sideline on defense, it's impressive." It's the second year in a row that Penn State has had a defensive end reclassify. Last summer, Texas four-star prospect Max Granville moved up from the class of 2025 and enrolled just before preseason camp. — Sean Fitz Daniel Jennings was the No. 160 overall player and No. 23 edge rusher in the 2026 class before opting to forgo his senior sea- son and enroll early at PSU. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER On3 Industry 2026 Team Recruiting Rankings As of May 19 Rk. School Commits 1. LSU 9 2. USC 27 3. Ohio State 13 4. Notre Dame 16 5. Oregon 8 6. Georgia 9 7. Texas A&M 11 8. Miami 10 9. Alabama 5 10. Clemson 15 11. Penn State 16