It feels like a different lifetime when McKeesport running back Kemon Spell, who has long been the No. 1 running back in the 2027 recruiting class, was committed to James Franklin and Penn State. After Franklin was fired last fall, Spell, who was already trending toward a flip, decommitted and eventually latched onto Kirby Smart and Georgia.
Now, in the thick of flip season with the early signing period about two months away, On3 reported that Penn State and Franklin were each separately making a push to pry him away from the Bulldogs, setting the stage for a massive battle between Matt Campbell, his predecessor, for one of the three five-star recruits in a 2027 bumper crop of talent in PA.
However, according to Spell, those reports are nonsense. Maybe the Nittany Lions, Hokies, and USC, which On3 also speculated were in the mix, are making contact with Spell and his team, but those efforts appear to be in vain. The No. 6 overall recruit in the country seems content with a future in Athens and the multi-million-dollar payday awaiting him.
This gotta stop,Go dawgs 🐶 https://t.co/YJD3O7uE7A
— Kemon spell (@KemonJones9) October 1, 2026
If Penn State makes a pre-signing day flip, it won’t be a top in-state talent
The dream for Penn State was that Campbell would arrive, immediately invigorate the in-state talent, and land Spell and five-star offensive tackle Maxwell Hiller, who is the No. 1 player in PA according to 247Sports Composite. Instead, Hiller landed with former Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein at Florida and seems firmly locked in with the Gators.
If the door was open at all for Campbell to change the in-state perception that he has just one top-20 in-state recruit in 2027, that likely went by the wayside with a high-profile Week 4 loss to Wisconsin, with 60+ recruits in attendance. Campbell has fared much better with the 2028 class, but there just isn’t enough momentum to make a major splash for 2027.
The other flip targets in-state would be Abraham Sesay, a five-star edge committed to Notre Dame, and Khalil Taylor, a four-star wide receiver who chose Nebraska over Penn State this summer.
The loss to Wisconsin and shaky start to the season aren't helping Campbell case, but even with a hot start in Blacksburg, it’s hard to imagine Franklin making significant inroads with Spell or other PA talent he had contact with prior to his ousting in Happy Valley.
Matt Campbell does need to add a WR in the 2027 class
The more realistic pre-signing day flip focus for Penn State has been on two three-star wide receivers, Chase Guers and Jamar Taylor. Guers is from Blue Mountain High School in PA and is committed to West Virginia. Taylor is a Rutgers commit from Delaware. Both were in attendance in Week 4, and Guers received an offer from Penn State on Sunday.
The lack of wide receiver talent on this roster was apparent against Wisconsin with Koby Howard out injured, and after whiffing on Khalil Taylor, Deshawn Hall, and losing Jamir Dean in a flip to Georgia, Penn State has just one wide receiver commit in 2027, four-star Landon Blum.
Guers and Taylor won’t move the needle for Penn State fans the way Spell would, but they’re more realistic targets at a position of slightly bigger need and have some upside despite their three-star standing.
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