Elite recruit visits Penn State as James Franklin ramps up 2026 recruiting

With Penn State’s 2025 high school recruiting class fully signed and mostly on campus in State College, James Franklin and his staff have fully turned their attention to next year’s crop of high school talent. The Nittany Lions had a significant transfer portal haul in the winter portal window, but, early on in the process, appear to be having more success in the high school ranks for 2026. 

Penn State’s 2026 class currently ranks No. 3 in the country with nine commits and another could be on the horizon after four-star edge rusher Jake Kreul visited Happy Valley on Friday. 

Kreul announced his visit on social media as the 6-foot-3 230-pound edge rusher from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida continues his tour of the country’s elite programs. Kreul, the 54th-best player in the class by 247Sports composite rankings and the sixth-best edge rusher has also recently posted pictures with coaches from Oklahoma, Auburn, UCF, Texas, and Oregon, as well as a picture with legendary NFL head coach and first-year coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels Bill Belichick. 

While a commitment seems far away from Kreul, if he changed his mind and fell in love with Happy Valley, he’d be the second-highest-rated player in Penn State’s 2026 class so far, only behind four-star offensive tackle Kevin Brown. Kreul would also be the second edge rusher to commit in the 2026 class following four-star Daniel Jennings. Jennings, a West Virginia native, announced his commitment back in July. 

This offseason, Franklin and defensive line coach Deion Barnes were tasked with replacing Abdul Carter, who will likely be a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and next offseason will lose former five-star Dani Dennis-Sutton who is preparing for his senior year in blue and white. To restock the shelves at defensive end, they added Texas A&M transfer Enai White from the portal this winter and signed LaVar Arrington Jr. in the 2025 recruiting class. Max Granville a 2024 four-star will also play a key role in the future of Penn State’s defensive line. 

Kreul is a key recruit to monitor for Penn State after his visit to Happy Valley.