Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544665
M A Y 2 0 2 6 4 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M I t took a few months for fans to get a feel for what Matt Campbell and his staff could accomplish on the recruiting trail at a program like Penn State. With the transfer portal taking up much of their time in January, plus a recruiting dead period in February, the months of March and April were always set up to be when we would truly get a feel for how well this staff can recruit. Looking back, you'd be hard-pressed to find many who weren't impressed with what they accomplished. In a three-week stretch from March 28 to April 19, Campbell and his staff earned commitments from 11 players, four of whom hold four-star grades and rank within the Rivals300. No school in the country earned more commitments than the Nittany Lions during that span. Then on April 25, the day of the Blue- White Practice, PSU added a 12th player in three-star offensive lineman Ryan Robbins of Upper St. Clair High in the Pittsburgh area. As of April 28, only three schools — Oklahoma, Louisville and Texas A&M — had more total commit- ments in the 2027 class than Penn State. The surge was enough to take the Lions from well outside the top 50 to No. 15 in the Rivals Team Recruiting Rankings. Of course, rankings only mean so much with seven months to go un- til players can sign. However, adding nearly a dozen prospects so quickly should help the staff dedicate more of their time to those who remain uncom- mitted. It's that group that will ulti- mately determine just how high this class can rank. Heading into the final week of April, Penn State was believed to be close to learning its fate at the quarterback posi- tion. Four-star prospect Peter Bourque of Tabor Academy in Hingham, Mass., has been this staff's top target ever since he decommitted from Michigan in Feb- ruary. In March and April, the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder, ranked by Rivals as the nation's No. 107 overall player, No. 9 signal-caller and No. 1 prospect in Mas- sachusetts, visited a handful of schools, but all signs pointed to Georgia, Penn State and Virginia Tech as his top three. Bourque, who threw for 2,241 yards and 18 touchdowns while also rushing for just under 700 yards and 15 scores as a junior, was expected to make a deci- sion by early May at the latest. After the nation's top-ranked signal- caller, Arizona native Will Mencl, chose Oregon over Penn State and Auburn, position coach Jake Waters took the op- portunity to offer another Massachu- setts quarterback, three-star prospect Will Wood, on April 20. Listed at just under 6-2, 210 pounds, Wood put up some impressive num- bers last season at Xavierian Brothers High in Westwood, totaling 2,800 yards passing, 42 touchdowns and just 1 in- terception. Boston College, West Vir- ginia and Arkansas all have official visits set with Wood, but Penn State was ad- mittedly his top school at the time. "The culture there seems to be super strong, and that's why they're going to build an elite program," said Wood, who is listed by Rivals as the No. 37 quar- terback nationally and No. 3 player in Massachusetts. "Going forward, they are going to be at the top. Them and BC are leading right now, but I'm also very high on WVU, Arkansas and Stanford." Running back and wide receiver also remain important positions for Penn State. This spring, PSU hosted four-star running backs Tre Segarra of Duncan, S.C.; Aiden Gibson of Woodruff, S.C.; and Gary Walker of Fairburn, Ga. Segarra is the No. 7 running back nationally, Walker is No. 8 and Gibson No. 26. Other running backs made the trip, Nittany Lions Look To Extend Their Hot Streak RYA N S N Y D E R | RYA N . S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M FOOTBALL RECRUITING Tre Segarra is the nation's No. 126 overall prospect and No. 7 running back, per Rivals. He visited PSU this spring but is sorting through a multitude of offers from the likes of Georgia, Clemson, Tennessee and others. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS