2026 five-star offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho narrowed his recruiting down to his top 11 programs on Wednesday and included Penn State in a group that included Big Ten rivals Maryland and Oregon. The 6-foot-7 345-pound Baltimore native is the No. 3 ranked recruit nationally by 247Sports composite rankings and the No. 2 offensive tackle behind top overall recruit Jackson Cantwell.
NEWS: Five-Star Plus+ OT Immanuel Iheanacho is down to 1️⃣1️⃣ Schools, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) February 12, 2025
The 6’7 350 OT from Baltimore, MD is ranked as the No. 2 Recruit in the ‘26 Class (per On3)
Where Should He Go?👇🏽https://t.co/EwovRFlpMu pic.twitter.com/e8WHlxveaS
Iheanacho is a priority recruiting target for Penn State, which has had plenty of success attracting top offensive line talent from across the country and has dominated recruiting in Maryland under James Franklin. With offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, who took over in that role in 2020, Franklin has landed 2024 five-star Cooper Cousins, 2023 five-stars J’ven Williams and Alex Birchmeier, and assembled the 2024 offensive line that allowed both Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen to rush for 1,000 yards as the Nittany Lions made a run to the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Penn State’s 2026 class is already loaded with talent. The nine-recruit group ranks fourth in the country and is headlined by an offensive tackle, four-star Kevin Brown from Harrisburg, PA.
Aside from Iheanacho being an exception talent, Franklin and Trautwein will prioritize him because there could be significant turnover coming to the offensive line after the 2025 season. The Nittany Lions only replaced one starter from 2024, right guard Sal Wormley, but left tackle Drew Shelton, center Nick Dawkins, potential starting right guard JB Nelson, and backup right tackle Nolan Rucci are all entering their final season of eligibility.
Despite starting the year behind redshirt freshman Anthony Donkoh, Rucci started in the Big Ten Championship game and CFP after Donkoh injured his knee in the penultimate week of the regular season against Minnesota.
With his tremendous size, Iheanacho would adjust quickly to Big Ten football, but the Georgetown Prep product featured seven SEC schools in his top 11, three from the Big Ten, and just one from the ACC (Miami).
With such a massive group of finalists, Penn State will hope to stay in the mix as this highly touted five-star continues to narrow his options.