Matt Campbell’s bye week ended with Penn State landing its first recruiting win of the 2026 cycle, but the stretch also came with a setback and a few more moving pieces as the staff kept working the board.
The headline addition was 3-star running back Jordan Hall, who committed on Saturday. One day later, the Nittany Lions lost 3-star linebacker Blake Betton, who flipped to Wisconsin. That kind of swing is part of the reality of recruiting in November, and Penn State is now looking at both immediate fixes and longer-term options as early signing day creeps closer.
Hall steps into a spot that opened when 4-star Aiden Gibson flipped to Rutgers, reclassified and joined the Scarlet Knights for this season. Gibson’s change left Chukwuma Odoh as the only running back in the class.
Penn State did not absolutely need two backs in this cycle, but Hall gives the class another body at a position that could use help in the room. The Ohio native is ranked No. 852 overall, No. 60 at his position and No. 32 in his home state.
The win also mattered because Campbell beat out Ohio State and Missouri for him.
Betton’s departure leaves Penn State thinner at linebacker, with only 4-star Case Alexander still in the 2027 class at the position. The staff has less than two months before early signing day, so replacing that spot will have to happen quickly if it happens at all.
Penn State is also still fishing for flips in other places, especially after losing 3-star quarterback Will Wood to Boston College. That opened the door for the Nittany Lions to take a hard look at some of the Eagles’ current and former commits, while also continuing to work on another quarterback target.
One name that could fit the linebacker opening is Boston College commit Michael Harden Jr. The 3-star prospect attends Xaverian Brothers, the same high school as Wood, and visited State College on June 10 for a camp. Penn State has not offered him yet.
Another former Boston College commit is already on the schedule. Defensive lineman Markius Woods, a 3-star recruit, has lined up a visit to Happy Valley for Penn State’s game against Rutgers on Nov.
- Woods, the No. 576 player in the class, also holds offers from Missouri, Kansas State and Illinois.
Campbell made another push at quarterback on Wednesday when he visited 4-star Braylen Warren and offered him a scholarship. Warren is committed to Missouri, but the trip to Omaha, Nebraska looks like the start of Penn State’s attempt to flip him. Warren played at Omaha Westside High School with current Penn State safety Bryson Williams, and he arrives with some real buzz as an Elite 11 Finalist and the No. 18 quarterback in the class, according to 247Sports composite.
Campbell’s travel schedule opened in Nebraska and stayed active all week. He finished the stretch in Ohio, where he visited Hall the day before the running back made his commitment public on Saturday.
Other members of the staff were out, too. Taylor Mouser and assistant tight ends coach Sam Seonbuchner visited 3-star tight end Quinn Weber, one of the top targets in the 2028 class. Weber is ranked No. 15 in New Jersey and No. 24 among tight ends in the 2028 cycle.
Quarterbacks coach Jake Waters also made the trip to the Pittsburgh area to see Hopewell quarterback James Armstrong, and Armstrong put on a show. He went 9-of-14 for 314 yards and five touchdowns, added a rushing score and helped push his team to a 50-0 halftime lead. Armstrong is currently the No. 145 player in the class, the No. 10 quarterback and the No. 3 player in Pennsylvania, and Penn State’s future at the position appears to be riding with him.
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Penn State's Quarterback Search Just Got More Pressing For Matt Campbell
Penn States quarterback pursuit in the 2027 class just got a little more complicated during the Week 8 bye, when Matt Campbell and his staff tried to make a late push for Braylen Warren. The four-star quarterback has been on Missouris board for a while, and the Tigers have been his commitment since December 2025, leaving Penn State to keep searching for a long-term answer under center.
The urgency is easy to see from Penn States side. The Nittany Lions still do not have a committed quarterback in the 2027 class after Will Wood decommitted, and Warren would have represented a major addition with the kind of production that made him such a sought-after prospect. Instead, Penn State is back in the market, and the next move in that search will matter plenty for a program still trying to lock down its future at the most important position on the field. [Read more 🡒]