Penn State has jumped into the recruitment of Pittsburgh Central Catholic freshman Kayden Jones, extending an offer to the Class of 2030 prospect while he’s still in the middle of his first high school season.
Jones is listed at 6-foot, 175 pounds and plays DB/WR. His offer sheet is already starting to take shape, too, with Miami - the current No. 1 team in the country - UConn and former Penn State coach James Franklin’s Virginia Tech Hokies also in the mix.
That list figures to grow. Jones is early in the process, and the momentum around him is already building.
The offer also fits a familiar pattern between Penn State and Pittsburgh Central Catholic. The Nittany Lions have leaned on that program before and have kept returning to it.
In the Class of 2024, Penn State signed receiver Peter Gonzalez and linebacker Anthony Speca from PCC. Gonzalez remains with the program, while Speca transferred to Purdue over the winter after two seasons at Penn State.
Penn State also added ATH Xxavier Thomas in the Class of 2025, and he’s now a defensive back for PSU.
The connection extends into the Class of 2027 as well, where Penn State has three-star OL John Sassic committed. The Nittany Lions also had a pledge from Zachary Gleason Jr. before he flipped to West Virginia over the summer.
Franklin made the school’s appeal plain in September 2024, saying, “We can’t get enough Pittsburgh Central Catholic guys…,” and adding, “Those guys have come in here prepared and ready to play. I think the academics at that school helps prepare them even from a football perspective, the type of program they run.
Looking right into the camera. We can’t get enough Pittsburgh Central Catholic guys.
That’s a school that we’re going to continue to go back to yeafr in and year out, and it’s important for us to keep the best players in Pennsylvania home, especially from the best programs.”
Penn State, as the offer to Jones shows, is still following that same blueprint.
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The crowd in attendance also included potential flip targets and other prospects taking in the atmosphere and the way Penn State performed on the field. For a program trying to keep momentum rolling, those kinds of game-day visits matter, especially when the team can point to a convincing league win and the kind of environment recruits remember. The bigger question now is how much that visit weekend can move the needle with the players who were watching closest. [Read more 🡒]