Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State Dealt Unfortunate News On Sunday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nate Lunak | Last updated Nov 23, 2025 3:44 PM ET

The Penn State Nittany Lions fired head coach James Franklin on Oct. 12, one day after losing to the Northwestern Wildcats and a 3-3 start to the 2025 season. Going into Week 1, they were ranked No. 2 on the AP Top 25 Poll.

Since then, Penn State has gone 2-3 under interim head coach Terry Smith. However, the bad news keeps rolling in. On Friday, Rivals reported that the Nittany Lions had suffered 19 decommitments since firing Franklin.

That included several big names in the 2026 recruiting cycle, such as four-star interior offensive lineman Kevin Brown, four-star running back Messiah Mickens and four-star wide receiver Jahsiear Rogers.

Former Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin.© Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

On Sunday, Rivals' Hayes Fawcett reported that linebacker Elijah Littlejohn became the latest name to decommit, flipping to the Georgia Bulldogs.

"BREAKING: Class of 2026 LB Elijah Littlejohn has Flipped his Commitment from Penn State to Georgia, he tells me for @rivals The 6’2 220 LB from Charlotte, NC had been Committed to the Nittany Lions since June," Fawcett wrote.

BREAKING: Class of 2026 LB Elijah Littlejohn has Flipped his Commitment from Penn State to Georgia, he tells me for @rivals⁰⁰The 6’2 220 LB from Charlotte, NC had been Committed to the Nittany Lions since June⁰⁰“All glory to the man above”⁰⁰https://t.co/VxLJYv63MW pic.twitter.com/qovkqR4yLV
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) November 23, 2025

It's a big loss for Penn State. Rivals Industry Rankings place Littlejohn as a three-star recruit, the No. 30 linebacker and the No. 413 player in the nation. This season for West Charlotte High School, he appeared in 10 games, racking up 46 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and one pass deflection.

Following his dismissal, Penn State's 2026 recruiting class has just 10 players. As a group, they rank No. 14 in the Big Ten and No. 53 in the nation. The Nittany Lions are on track to finish without a top-25 recruiting class for the first time since 2013.

With Littlejohn's departure, Penn State has just two more linebackers in the 2026 cycle in the form of four-star Terry Wiggins and three-star Mathieu Lamah.

The wave of decommitments highlights how important Franklin was to Penn State's recruiting success.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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