Penn State football's wide receiver recruitment continues to be a bumpy road for head coach Matt Campbell.
The Nittany Lions entered official visit season with two, 2027 four-star wideouts committed. Soon after, they lost Jamir Dean to Georgia and went all-in on recruiting Khalil Taylor and Deshawn Hall. Things veered in a good direction for Campbell and Co. after hosting both uncommitted prospects over their official visit weekend. There was hope that Landon Blum, the remaining Penn State wideout commit, would be joined by both recruits very soon.
On Tuesday, Hall announced his commitment to Auburn, opting for an in-state option over Happy Valley. With the lack of available prospects on Campbell's board, Hall's decision is a huge slap in the face. Though the Tigers started swaying his mind again as it got closer to his commitment date, Hall was a recruit Penn State needed. One 2027 wideout doesn't cut it.
Now, the pressure turned up another notch — if that was even possible — for the Nittany Lions to land Taylor.
Deshawn Hall committing to Auburn makes Khalil Taylor a requirement for Penn State's 2027 class
Like Hall, Taylor's recruitment after his official visit was painted almost entirely in blue and white. He canceled his remaining visits and gave Penn State essentially everything except the hard commitment.
Not long after, Nebraska re-entered the picture. It was around the same time as experts projected Hall to commit to Auburn when Taylor rescheduled an official visit with the Cornhuskers. He was in Lincoln and even teased a Nebraska commitment prior to his visit.
Whether the tease was just to draw in engagement or not, Taylor's commitment just reached new heights of seriousness for Campbell. Hall's commitment put Penn State in a disastrous position. The last thing Campbell needs is for Taylor to do a 180, choose the Cornhuskers, and send everything spiraling.
The Nittany Lions are undoubtedly putting the pedal to the floor with Taylor if they weren't doing so already. With head coach Matt Rhule making a last-minute effort to land the Pennsylvania wideout, Campbell has to pull out all the stops to ensure Taylor stays at home and at Penn State.
Taylor is the No. 15 wide receiver in the 2027 class and No. 87 recruit nationally, according to Rivals Industry Rankings. While he technically has six schools in contention, it's really a two-team, Big Ten battle between Penn State and Nebraska.
Taylor's commitment date is July 6, which gives Campbell more than enough time to make sure the Cornhuskers didn't overtake the Nittany Lions. Of course, in that timeframe, Rhule will try to swing Taylor over to Nebraska, but Penn State has a different level of urgency now to land him.
It's not just on Saturdays when Campbell needs to win big for the blue and white. The time is right now.
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