Penn State football recruiting: Several key commits dominate for their high schools over the weekend

Penn State football shined in its commanding 35-15 win over West Virginia on Saturday night, but on Friday night, several future Nittany Lions were thriving for their respective high school teams.

Running back Quinton Martin — the highest-ranked recruit of James Franklin’s 2024 class and No. 1 overall player in the state of Pennsylvania was unstoppable, putting together a four-touchdown performance for Belle Vernon High School. Martin showed off his versatility, catching two passes for scores and the first half, and finding the end zone with his legs twice in the second half. The running touchdowns were from 31 and 40 yards.

Here’s one of Martin’s touchdown passes where he is clearly just far more athletic than the defensive back, burns him on a slant route and catches an easy score.

Speaking of running backs, Penn State football has two great ones now, another committed to next year’s class — and the most recent commitment — 2026 RB Messiah Mickens put together an electric performance for Trinity High School. The sophomore closed out his game with 244 yards and four touchdowns helping his team secure a 37-16 win.

Check out the talent Penn State is getting in a few years.

While Drew Allar thrived  in his debut for the Nittany Lions, the only quarterback of the 2024 class — 4-star signal caller Ethan Grunkmeyer of Ohio — continues to put together a fantastic senior campaign for Olentangy High School.

In his season debut a few weeks ago, the versatile quarterback put together an insane 444-yard, four-touchdown performance. Since then, he’s led his team to a 3-0 start to the year, including knocking off Allar’s Alma Mater, Medina High School with a 53-28 victory.

Check out the highlights from that first game here. It’s truly a site to see and clear that Penn State football has some great talent coming in the future.