Penn State Football Recruiting on the Rise Based on National Rankings

Penn State football recruiting is in a good place right now as James Franklin’s quietly putting together one of the best collections of talent since taking over in 2014.

Although things can (and do) change every day, the Nittany Lions’ Class of 2025 is currently ranked No. 7 in the Rivals Team Recruiting Rankings.

Considering the current climate and challenges of college recruiting today, securing a Top 10 recruiting class would be a tremendous accomplishment and a sign that the Penn State football recruiting machine is still churning strong.

National Signing Day is still five months away, so there’s plenty of things that can happen, but the Nittany Lions are currently sitting in a good place.

Only twice before under Franklin has Penn State had a recruiting class that finished in the Top 10 Nationally (2022 and 2018).

James Franklin’s Five Highest Penn State Football Recruiting Classes

Class of 2018- No. 5
Class of 2022- No. 7
Class of 2019- No. 11
Class of 2017- No. 12
Class of 2020- No. 15

Penn State’s Class of 2018 had some names that you’ll remember and are currently playing in the NFL: Micah Parson (Dallas), Rasheed Walker (Green Bay), Jayson Oweth (Baltimore), Jahan Dotson (Washington), Juice Scruggs (Houston), Will Levis (Tennessee) and Pat Freiermuth (Pittsburgh).

When examining the Class of 2025, one of the things that stands out the most is Penn State’s ability to move in and take top talent from non-traditional recruiting territories. In fact, Penn State’s 21 current commitments have come from 11 different states (California, Maryland, Kansas, Texas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, New York, Connecticut and Arkansas).

When looking over those different states, one thing that’s clear is Penn State’s recent surge into California, a very difficult place to pull top talent from.