Penn State football officially missed out on one of its prime wide receiver targets. On Tuesday, four-star wideout Deshawn Hall announced his commitment, and the Nittany Lions were left behind despite making a great impression on the Prattville, Ala. during his official visit.
Auburn beat out Penn State for Hall. They were the last two programs in contention to land him, but the Tigers came out on top in the end.
“It’s just a great all-around place,” Hall told Chad Simmons of Rivals. “Auburn really checked every box that I was looking for from a relationship standpoint to development. It’s been a second home… everything really worked out. It was obvious that it was the best choice.”
BREAKING: Four-Star WR Deshawn Hall has Committed to Auburn, he tells me for @Rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 23, 2026
The 6’5 195 WR chose the Tigers over Penn State
“It just hit different being able to do it in yo hometown surrounded with your people”https://t.co/Slle9hGblU pic.twitter.com/VMjwYJi6pv
Four-star wide receiver Deshawn Hall commits to Auburn over Penn State
Hall is the No. 28 wide receiver in the class, per Rivals Industry Rankings, and the No. 189 recruit nationally. In 2025, Hall caught 40 passes for 660 yards and five touchdowns in 10 games. This was his first season at Prattville where he transferred to.
The highly-touted wide receiver was practically a necessity for head coach Matt Campbell. After losing four-star Jamir Dean to Georgia just over a month after his initial commitment, Campbell was scraping his board for remaining targets. Hall was one of them.
He was also a promising target for the Nittany Lions. They hosted him for an official visit over the weekend of June 5-7. While Campbell had a ton of recruits, both committed and uncommitted prospects, on campus that weekend, his efforts still made Penn State a top option for Hall.
After his official visit, experts favored the blue and white to land Hall. This came after his visit with Auburn, making it seem like Penn State had taken the upper hand in his recruitment. However, a last-minute switch up had the Tigers on top. When the predictions flipped, Auburn had a 69.5 percent chance to land the wideout while the Nittany Lions had a 26.4 percent chance.
Even with this change, Penn State had an opening to work with. This was just under a week before Hall committed, but Campell couldn't pull out the win even with a few days to work with.
Hall also noted that the Nittany Lions didn't make his decision easy. He told Rivals that relationships with the staff and excitement for the program's future were contributing factors into his decision. Those are things Penn State has in common with Auburn, but the Tigers could offer something the Nittany Lions couldn't: being home.
“Auburn just showed me why I needed to be home. It was definitely a tough decision, but Auburn is for sure the right decision," Hall told Rivals. "It being in my home state and being able to do what I can do in front of the people I grew up with is really a dream come true. It’s a perfect situation, and I’m really excited to continue the journey with them."
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