James Franklin's Immediate Reaction to Major Penn State Recruiting News

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nate Lunak | Last updated May 22, 2025 3:30 PM ET

There are a lot of high expectations for the Penn State Nittany Lions entering the 2025 season. Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt even named them the nation's top team.

As the hype keeps on growing, head coach James Franklin continues to prove he is making strides to ensure the program sees success that stretches beyond the upcoming season.

Much of that has come in the form of landing high-level recruits out of high school, and on Thursday, Penn State made a huge addition in the form of 2026 cornerback Jaziel Hart, per On3's Hayes Fawcett.

Within the same minute the news was revealed, Franklin went to social media to post a video compilation of Penn State football, with the caption "#WeAre...Better #107kStrong #PSUnrivaled."

#WeAre...Better #107kStrong #PSUnrivaled pic.twitter.com/anHOZ5VgvS
— James Franklin (@coachjfranklin) May 22, 2025

This is great news for the Nittany Lions, as Hart was a highly touted recruit, with On3 ranking him as a four-star prospect, the No. 7 player in Virginia and the No. 35 cornerback in the nation.

Penn State and Franklin also weren't the only ones looking to land his commitment; the Nittany Lions ended up beating out teams such as Michigan, Tennessee, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, who were among the five finalists.

In his sophomore season for North Cross High School, Hart was very productive, appearing in 11 games and accumulating 54 tackles, three tackles for loss, six interceptions and 10 pass deflections

Hart now joins an impressive 2026 recruiting class for Penn State, which features 17 total commitments and a group that ranks No. 4 in the Big Ten and No. 11 in the nation, per On3.

Some other big names Franklin has landed include four-star running back Messiah Mickens, four-star athlete Peyton Falzone, four-star safety Matt Sieg and four-star wide receiver Davion Brown.

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

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