Penn State Football News: A Coaching Departure, Post-Spring Rankings and More

College football doesn't sleep anymore, and neither does Penn State. The news cycle spins on, so here's the latest regarding Penn State football.

A letterman leaves Penn State's staff

Torrance Brown, a former Penn State defensive lineman and graduate assistant, is headed to Western Illinois for a full-time coaching position. The Leathernecks recently announced Brown as their new defensive line coach.

Brown played for head coach James Franklin from 2014-18 and served as a graduate assistant for one year after his playing career ended. He returned to Penn State in 2023 as a graduate assistant for defensive line coach Deion Barnes. Brown also worked for Charles Huff at Marshall and was an assistant for a season at Eastern New Mexico University.

"Coach Brown came highly recommended to us and was very impressive throughout the interview process" Western Illinois head coach Joe Davis said in a statement. "He has been a part of elite defenses at the highest level of Division 1 football and will hold our players to high standards in the classroom, in the community and on the field."

Expectations are building for the Nittany Lions

If the post-spring assessments are an indication, Penn State will open the 2025 season with its best preseason ranking since 1999. The Nittany Lions began that year ranked third in the AP preseason Top 25 and have been as high as sixth since.

Penn State will be at least a top-5 team after making the College Football Playoff semifinals and look to crack the preseason top 3. The Nittany Lions might even get some No. 1 votes. ESPN's Mark Schlabach, for instance, has Penn State atop his post-spring top 25. As does Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt, who has been pitching Penn State as a championship contender since the end of last season.

Klatt has been comparing Penn State's 2025 team to those of Michigan in 2023 and Ohio State in 2024, which won CFP titles with veteran rosters that knew playoff disappointment.

"Both of those teams had a core group of veteran players stay," Klatt said on a recent edition of his podcast. "They stayed and they won a championship. Both of those teams had veterans at quarterback. They had veterans on both sides of the ball. They were excellent at the line of scrimmage. They had chips on their shoulders from the way that they were bounced in the postseason in years prior. All of that is true about Penn State."

Where is Penn State in the recruiting rankings?

The Nittany Lions have been busy building their 2026 recruiting class this spring, receiving eight commitments since late March. The most recent was from Philadelphia defensive lineman Alexander Haskell, a 3-star prospect from the talent-rich St. Joseph's Prep.

Penn State has compiled half its class this spring, getting a head start on the summer commitment season. Among the highlights:

Four-star propsect Peyton Falzone became the second quarterback to commit to Penn State's 2026 class. Falzone joined California quarterback Troy Huhn, who recently earned an invitation to the UA Next All-America Game in January.

Two highly ranked linebackers, Terry Wiggins of Pennsylvania and Mathieu Lamah, committed within three days of each other. Penn State also received a key transfer commitment from former North Carolina linebacker Amare Campbell.

Penn State's 2026 recruiting class ranks fourth nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite, and third in a top-heavy Big Ten. USC leads the nation, while Ohio State ranks third. Penn State's class ranks sixth according to Rivals, sixth according to ESPN and 10th according to On3.