Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1542734
6 0 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State was expected to welcome a handful of important in-state play- ers in the 2027 class to campus on Jan. 24. Following a hectic two-week stretch dealing with the transfer portal, new coach Matt Campbell and his staff set two junior day events for the end of the month, with the second date taking place on Jan. 31. As of mid-January, the list of visitors for the latter event was still coming together, but a few of Pennsylvania's best players were planning to visit on the earlier date, notably former wide receiver commit Khalil Taylor. A 5-foot-11, 180-pound pros- pect from Pine-Richland High in Pitts- burgh, Taylor met with Campbell and cornerbacks coach Terry Smith during an in-school visit on Jan. 15 and made it clear he's still very interested in Penn State. Georgia was also expected to host the four-star player in January. He's currently ranked by Rivals as the No. 65 overall prospect nationally and No. 5 player in Pennsylvania. But Taylor isn't the only in-state re- ceiver to watch; Penn State was also ex- pected to host four-star prospect Mat- thew Gregory of Owen J. Roberts High in Pottstown and Cade Cooper of Malvern Prep. Gregory, who stands 6-0, 170 pounds, is one of the fastest players in the country, having turned in a 10.46-second 100-meter time to finish second in the PIAA Class AAA state fi- nal. Following an update to the Rivals rankings, Gregory is now ranked higher than Taylor, com- ing in at No. 60 nationally and No. 4 in Pennsylvania. Cooper also holds a four-star rating from Rivals, coming in at No. 294 na- tionally, No. 38 at wide receiver and No. 12 in Pennsylvania. The 6-2, 190-pound receiver met with multiple coaches, in- cluding Campbell and wide receivers coach Noah Pauley, at Malvern Prep on Jan. 16. As with Taylor and Gregory, Cooper is expected to be a top target for the staff in this cycle. One other familiar name to monitor is former Penn State safety commit Gabe Jenkins from Imani Christian in Pitts- burgh. A three-star prospect, Jenkins has added offers from Florida, Florida State, Ole Miss and USC since backing out of his prior commitment. However, he's also very close with Smith, which should play a big role in the Nittany Li- ons continuing to have a strong pres- ence in Western Pennsylvania. "Terry's the GOAT. He's a wonderful man and person," Imani Christian head coach LaRoi Johnson said. "Everybody knows the kind of person he is, and him being there still can only help them with Gabe." — Ryan Snyder Nittany Lions Turn Their Attention To 2027 Class BWI LIVE! Tuesday , Wednesday and Thursday Join the show live to interact with us in the live chat function. You can also ask a question for the BWI Mailbag, which ends the show. www.youtube.com/c/bluewhiteillustratedvideo Listen to the podcasts on Apple and Spotify Watch all of our shows on YouTube on the Blue White Illustrated channel KHALIL TAYLOR