Penn State’s recruiting story over the last quarter-century has been shaped by a handful of monster wins, the kind that change the feel of a program. And with Matt Campbell now in charge, the Nittany Lions are heading into a stretch where keeping that level of success on the trail will be the challenge. Until he settles into Big Ten recruiting and builds deeper ties in Pennsylvania, the biggest hauls since 2000 are likely to stay attached to James Franklin’s name.
That’s what makes this list such a reminder of how much Franklin helped define the modern Penn State roster. Some of these players became stars.
Some didn’t quite hit the ceiling people imagined. But every one of them mattered.
Saquon Barkley sits at No. 1, and for good reason. The Pennsylvania four-star in the 2015 class first committed to Rutgers, but he was always going to end up in Happy Valley.
Penn State offered him in 2013, back when Bill O’Brien was still running the program, and Franklin finished the job after taking over from Vanderbilt in 2014. Barkley became the face of the 2016 resurgence and almost certainly the best player on those teams.
Missing on a talent like that, especially with him in state, would have been a disaster. Penn State landed a legend instead.
Christian Hackenberg comes in at No. 2, and his recruitment carried a very different kind of weight. He was the No. 2 quarterback and No. 13 overall player in the 2013 class, and Penn State was in the middle of a brutal period with sanctions hanging over the program.
Bill O’Brien had to hold things together with limited scholarships before Franklin arrived, but Hackenberg stayed in the class anyway, along with four-star tight end Adam Breneman. That class helped prove Penn State was still standing, and the next year’s group - No. 24 nationally, with Mike Gesicki, Chris Godwin, Marcus Allen and others - helped fuel the 2016 Big Ten title run.
At No. 3 is Drew Allar, the quarterback Penn State hoped would be the missing piece. The 6-foot-5 five-star from Medina, Ohio, never quite matched the sky-high expectations attached to him, but he still delivered something meaningful: Penn State’s first College Football Playoff appearance and its first two CFP wins.
Franklin and his staff also deserve credit for spotting him early as a three-star and pulling him out of Ohio before Ryan Day could get him. Allar was the centerpiece of Penn State’s highest-ranked recruiting class ever, alongside Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
Micah Parsons lands at No. 5, and his path to Penn State had a little help from the Buckeyes backing off. The top player in Pennsylvania in the 2018 class had been trending toward Ohio State before a recruiting violation during College Gameday in 2017 changed the picture.
That opened the door for Franklin and Penn State, which then held off Oklahoma and brought Parsons into LaVar Arrington’s St1X C1ty legacy. Parsons was excellent in 2019 and looked like a future first-round pick by the time he opted out of the pandemic-altered 2020 season.
His Penn State career lasted just two years, and both came at off-ball linebacker rather than edge rusher, where he has thrived in the NFL. Even so, keeping him away from Ohio State was a huge win.
Filling out the list at No. 4 is Derrick Williams, a five-star receiver in the 2005 class. In 2004, Penn State looked like a program losing its edge, coming off its fourth losing season in five years.
Then Joe Paterno landed Williams, the No. 4 overall player in the class. Florida’s firing of Ron Zook changed Williams’ path, and the Greenbelt, Maryland native headed north to Happy Valley.
He never became a true superstar, but he was a useful offensive piece and part of the turnaround that produced 40 wins over the next four years, plus the 2006 Orange Bowl and a trip to the 2009 Rose Bowl against USC.
In Other News...
Penn State Adds Colorado Transfer Alex McPherson To Reload Edge Depth
Penn State is continuing to stock up on edge depth, and Alex McPherson fits the kind of long, developmental profile the program has often tried to mine. The 6-foot-6, 254-pound transfer spent the 2025 season at Colorado, where he got into 10 games and showed enough activity to keep coaches interested, even if his role there was still clearly a work in progress.
McPherson arrives in State College with some pass-rush upside and a chance to grow inside Penn States new defensive system, which should give him a cleaner path to carve out a role. He was a three-star prospect out of high school, and for a defense always looking to reload up front, the appeal is obvious: a player with tools, production flashes and room to develop into more. [Read more 🡒]
Former Penn State Quarterback Just Got The Chance Fans Wondered About
Penn State fans have spent plenty of time wondering what Beau Pribula might look like with a real shot to run a program, and the conversation around former Nittany Lions quarterbacks has only grown louder as coaching staffs and rosters keep shifting across the sport. Todd Blackledge has been among those offering a positive read on the current staff picture, while Matt Campbells roster changes and coaching additions have kept the spotlight on how well a new group can come together, especially on the defensive side.
The broader quarterback picture is just as interesting for Penn State followers, with evaluations continuing on Rocco Becht and even the future outlook around James Armstrong. Pribulas next step is the one that will draw the most attention, though, because his path has now moved from possibility to something much more concrete, and the real question is how he handles the chance once the games start to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Faces A Familiar Pitt Debate With Bigger Stakes Now
The old Penn State-Pitt football argument keeps resurfacing, and this time it comes with a little more weight behind it. Pat Narduzzi has made it clear Pitt would take the game immediately if it were put on the schedule, a familiar stance in a rivalry that still carries plenty of history even after years without a meeting. The last time the teams played was in 2019, and Penn State has controlled the series in recent decades, which only adds to the sense that this is more than a nostalgic scheduling debate.
Matt Campbell, though, has not sounded eager to chase the rivalry for rivalrys sake, preferring to keep his focus on building a strong culture and a program with bigger competitive priorities. That is where the conversation gets tricky for Penn State, because the appeal of the matchup is obvious to fans, but the stakes in the modern schedule are different now. With Pitt willing and Penn State more cautious, the question is not whether the rivalry still matters. It is whether the Lions see enough value in bringing it back. [Read more 🡒]