Matt Campbell’s recruiting push at Penn State is showing no signs of slowing down - and now, it’s stretching all the way into the Class of 2028.
The latest name to watch? George Parkinson IV, a four-star edge rusher out of Pennsylvania who just wrapped up his sophomore season and is already drawing serious national attention.
According to the 247Sports Composite, Parkinson ranks as the No. 52 overall prospect in his class, the No. 6 edge rusher, and the No. 2 player in the state. That’s elite company - and Penn State’s coaching staff is making sure he knows he’s a priority.
Parkinson announced on social media that he’ll be back in Happy Valley on Saturday, Jan. 24, for a visit with the Nittany Lions. This trip is a chance to reconnect with the program and meet the new-look coaching staff, including head coach Matt Campbell, director of player personnel Trent Slattenow, associate head coach and cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, and edge rushers coach Christian Smith.
This isn’t Parkinson’s first brush with Penn State. The Nittany Lions were early to the party, becoming the second school to offer him - back on Feb. 14, 2025 - just a few months after Maryland made the first move.
Since then, Parkinson’s offer list has grown to 13 schools, and he’s already made an unofficial visit to Florida State in June 2025. But with Penn State now under new leadership, Campbell and his staff will need to re-extend the offer - a formality, really, for a top-10 edge rusher in the country.
And Parkinson’s production backs up the hype. As a sophomore, he racked up 53 tackles, 23 quarterback hurries, 11 tackles for loss, and eight sacks - numbers that leap off the stat sheet and speak to both his motor and his ability to disrupt plays in the backfield. He’s not just a promising athlete - he’s a game-changer on the edge.
Campbell’s early success in keeping Pennsylvania talent home is also worth noting here. During the Early Signing Period, he locked down signatures from two key in-state prospects in the Class of 2026: edge rusher Jackson Ford and quarterback Peyton Falzone.
Ford, like Parkinson, is a four-star recruit from Malvern Prep - a connection that could pay dividends in Parkinson’s recruitment. With Ford already signed and set to arrive this summer, that familiar face on campus might be exactly the kind of peer influence that helps sway a high-profile recruit.
There’s still a long way to go in Parkinson’s recruitment - after all, he’s only a sophomore - but visits like this one are how relationships get built. And for Campbell and his staff, this weekend is another opportunity to show that Penn State isn’t just reloading under new leadership - it’s reasserting itself as a force in the region.
Parkinson is a name to remember. And if Campbell keeps stacking these kinds of visits and connections, the Nittany Lions could be in prime position to land one of the state’s best - again.