2027 QB Will Wood’s decommitment will force Penn State into the transfer portal

On Sunday, after Penn State suffered its fourth loss of the season, 21-18 to Michigan, to head into its bye week 3-4 in Matt Cambpell’s first season at the helm, the Nittany Lions got more bad news as 2027 3-star quarterback Will Wood flipped his commitment to Boston College and former Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien. 

Wood, from Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, Mass., cited a desire to stay closer to home in his announcement. His decommitment leaves Penn State without a QB in the 2027 class, but the Nittany Lions retained their No. 20 ranking in the country with 21 commits now less than two months out from the early signing period. 

Will Wood shouldn’t be a foundation-shaking loss for Penn State

Wood originally committed to Penn State in May, choosing Campbell’s program over O’Brien’s at the time. Wood became the top priority for Penn State around the time that the No. 1 QB in Massachusetts, Peter Bourque, zeroed in on Virginia Tech and O’Brien’s replacement in Happy Valley once upon a time, James Franklin. 

Bourque, a top-100 recruit in the class and the No. 7 QB by 247Sports Composite, has remained committed to the Hokies. While Wood is the No. 2 QB in Massachusetts, he’s the No. 505 overall player by 247Sports Composite and the No. 30 QB. 

There could be a myriad of reasons Wood is choosing to flip to Boston College. Beyond his stated reason of geography, however, NIL and revenue-sharing payments had to play at least some role in the decision. Details of his deal aren’t public, but the fact that he’s flipping to Boston College, which was the lowest spender in the FBS in 2026, according to The Athletic’s reporting, spending an estimated $8-13 million on its entire roster, suggests he’s likely not commanding top dollar. 

Now, you can’t just follow the money to determine how good a player or a team will be; just ask Mike Elko about his $45 million roster at Texas A&M this season. However, it does reflect value and is at least a directional indicator that is a valuable data point to go along with recruiting industry rankings. 

Again, geography is a factor that’s hard to control, but Wood is landing at Boston College, not a serious FBS contender, which signals that he’s likely not a damaging loss for Penn State, especially considering the other options both on the current roster and in the 2028 recruiting class. 

Will Wood would have had a tough path to playing time at Penn State

Alex Manske, Rocco Becht’s redshirt freshman backup and a former four-star Iowa State recruit, is the likely heir apparent in Happy Valley. It’s important that Campbell and his staff confirm that by playing Manske down the stretch of this season, which they seem uninterested in doing, but either way, Manske will most likely be the guy next season, entering his redshirt sophomore year of college football with three years of eligibility remaining. 

If Manske is the “program quarterback” that Penn State hopes he will be, it would have been difficult for Wood to usurp him, and in 2028, serious competition is expected to arrive in the form of in-state four-star James Armstrong, who is likely to be the highest-ranked QB recruit Campbell has signed. 

Wood would represent depth in the QB room. Who knows, maybe he will outplay his ranking at Boston College and become the one who got away, but with the information we have now, this isn’t a reason to hit the panic button, even if it may appear to be a serious red flag about a program seemingly heading in the wrong direction. 

Penn State now must add some depth at QB through the transfer portal

I’ve already written so much about how finding out whether or not Manske is going to be your starting QB for 2027 should be the No. 1 priority for this staff the rest of the season and how failing to do so is malpractice. So, I’ll spare you my reasoning, though isn’t it obvious? 

However, now, regardless of how good Manske looks if he does eventually see the field or how confident the staff is in him if he doesn’t, Penn State will now almost certainly need to add a QB out of the transfer portal. As it stands, the QB room will be Manske and Kase Evans for next season, with Becht and third-string D-III transfer Connor Barry both out of eligibility after 2026. 

In addition, 2026 four-star Peyton Falzone has also since moved to the tight ends room, so without Wood coming in and without much time to flip a different 2027 QB, Campbell and general manager Derek Hoodjer will need to dip into the portal, either to find a starter or a backup. Hopefully it’s the latter.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow