Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544665
5 2 M A 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 F our-star cornerback Kei'shjuan Telfair became the top-ranked prospect in Penn State's 2027 recruiting class when he committed to the Nittany Lions on April 19. A 5-foot-11, 160-pound standout from Euclid (Ohio) High, Telfair is ranked by Rivals as the No. 92 overall prospect and No. 12 cornerback nationally, as well as the No. 5 player in his home state. He's rated comparably in the Rivals Indus- try Ranking, which combines the grades from the three major recruiting websites, placing No. 99 overall, No. 14 among cor- nerbacks and No. 4 in Ohio. Telfair has shined in the secondary and at wide receiver for Euclid, and he earned an offer from PSU cornerbacks coach Terry Smith back in October 2024. Grati- fied by the Nittany Lions' early interest, he went on to take multiple trips to State College over the next year and a half, get- ting to know Smith and later developing a relationship with new head coach Matt Campbell. "Coach Terry is great," Telfair said. "He's straightforward with everything and really knows what he's doing. … I've got a good relationship with him, and he has a good plan for me. The relationship I have with Coach Campbell is strong, too. He actually reminds me of my high school coach, so that's a big part of it." Smith's eye for talent helped Penn State get its foot in the door early, and that proved crucial when Telfair's recruitment started heating up. He received more than 40 scholarship offers and attended games last fall at Clemson, Michi- ga n a n d No t re D a m e , a m o n g o t h e r s c h o o l s. Telfair also took unofficial visits to Nebraska and Ohio State this past March and later checked out Miami. Telfair visited Penn State twice this spring, and it didn't take too long for Smith to lock down argu- ably his top re- maining corner- back target in the 2027 class. O f c o u r s e , Smith isn't the only one who be- lieves that Telfair has a bright fu- ture ahead of him at the college level. Charles Power, Ri- vals' director of scouting and rankings, described him as "a dynamic, two-way player at the high school level, which we think is always a positive when you're looking for corner prospects." "You have to really like his play speed and the explosion he plays with," Power said. "I think the functional athleticism and ball skills stack up really well with this corner group, and that's a big reason why he was an upward mover for us, just based on his general playmaking ability on his junior film. "I think the biggest area for Telfair to continue improving is really just adding size. He's on the thinner side currently and is going to need to continue gaining mass to hold up as a run defender at the college level. But I really like the overall skill set. Within that corner group, we felt he was certainly worthy of a bump." ■ Elite Cornerback Prospect Gives Secondary A Boost RYA N S N Y D E R | RYA N . S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M Telfair was heavily recruited and took visits to Clemson, Michigan and Notre Dame last fall but was sold on Terry Smith's vision for his future as a Nittany Lion. PHOTO COURTESY KEI'SHJUAN TELFAIR COMMITMENT PROFILE KEI'SHJUAN TELFAIR Kei'shjuan Telfair will bring great athleticism to the Nittany Lions' secondary. He's explo- sive and quick with instant acceleration and excellent top speed. He has borderline elite feet for the cornerback position and should be one of Penn State's most useful coverage players once he's learned the team's defensive scheme. From a physical perspective, Telfair is an excellent change-of-direction athlete with fluid hips and an impressive ability to stop and start. He'll need to refine those skills at PSU. Telfair has the physical ability to be an elite man- coverage player, but his footwork on transitions can be inefficient. He will sometimes take too many steps laterally or round out his transitions instead of making a hard cut and com- ing downhill on in-breaking and out-breaking routes. It's a technique problem that can be fixed with coaching. However, it does lead to some easy catches when he's facing athletes of comparable skill and physical ability at the high school level. Telfair is an important pickup for Terry Smith and Penn State. While the rest of PSU's cornerback recruits have a high floor and could potentially turn into top performers, Telfair is a much better bet given his tools. — Thomas Frank Carr P L A Y E R E V A L U A T I O N