Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1537537
1 0 2 A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M school to offer him in July 2024, and he finished with more than two dozen of- fers total. Ford ultimately took six official visits — to Penn State, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio State, Stanford and Wisconsin. Many expected the Buckeyes and Wol- verines to be PSU's top competitors, but he admitted that his decision actually came down to Penn State and Wiscon- sin. "I feel like the connection between me and Coach [Deion] Barnes has been building for a while now and is really strong," Ford said. "We've been talking for over a year. Penn State was one of my first big offers. But since then, the plan that he's laid out there and has shown me and my parents has been really im- pactful. He sees my upside and plans to build on that over the coming years." A four-star prospect, Ford is ranked No. 191 nationally by Rivals. He's the No. 26 defensive end in the country and No. 7 player in Pennsylvania. Jack Fuchs OT | 6-8 | 295 | Hendersonville, Tenn. Fuchs is the son of Scott Fuchs, an assistant coach with the Tennessee Ti- tans. Before moving on to the NFL, the elder Fuchs coached with current Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotel- nicki at both Buffalo and Kansas. While that relationship may have had a minor impact on his eventual deci- sion, the Beech High prospect made it clear that Phil Trautwein's success at developing future NFL linemen played the biggest role. "There's a lot that I like about Penn State, but the developmental piece was huge for them," Fuchs said. "That's re- ally what I'm looking for." Throughout his recruitment, Fuchs totaled 16 scholarship offers. He took official visits to Kentucky, Indiana and Penn State before narrowing his de- cision down to the Nittany Lions and Wildcats. A three-star prospect, he is the No. 48 offensive tackle nationally and No. 15 player in Tennessee. Tyson Harley DE | 6-3 | 220 | Washington, D.C. Penn State added another coveted edge rusher on July 5 when Harley chose the Nittany Lions over Maryland, Mich- igan State, Rutgers and Virginia Tech. The four-star prospect enjoyed an ex- cellent junior season playing alongside five-star defensive end Carter Mead- ows, finishing with 15 tackles for loss and 8 sacks and earning All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference honors in one of the region's most talented divi- sions. "I like Tyson Harley a lot," Rivals scouting director Charles Power said. "He's more productive than Carter Meadows. I think he's got a good com- bination of athleticism, while also still having a good frame to fill out. He's more of a developmental guy, physi- cally, compared to Meadows, but he's got a lot that you look for with his ath- leticism and frame." Penn State offered Harley in January. By that point in his recruitment, he had already made two visits to PSU, but it was a subsequent trip in late March that firmly established the Nittany Lions as the team to beat. Harley is ranked No. 170 nationally. He's listed by Rivals as the No. 23 edge rusher nationally and No. 2 overall pros- pect in Washington, D.C. Jaziel Hart CB | 6-0 | 170 | Roanoke, Va. Hart ended his recruitment on May 22. Penn State had extended its offer nearly a year earlier, in June 2024, after he camped with the staff. He totaled two dozen scholarship offers over the course of his recruitment, but this ended up being a Michigan-Penn State battle throughout most of 2025. In fact, Hart Four-star prospect Pierce Petersohn developed a strong relationship with Penn State tight ends coach Ty Howle and committed to the Nittany Lions in June. PHOTO COURTESY PIERCE PETERSOHN On3 Industry 2026 Team Recruiting Rankings As of July 14 Rk. School Commits 1. Georgia 29 2. USC 31 3. Notre Dame 26 4. Texas A&M 25 5. Alabama 19 6. Oregon 14 7. LSU 16 8. Ohio State 21 9. Mic higan 21 10. Clemson 21 16. Penn State 24