Former 4-star Penn State WR commit Jahsiear Rogers flips to SEC contender

Penn State’s 2026 recruiting class, expectedly, came apart at the seams once when the program fired James Franklin, and now, rather than wait around for Franklin’s replacement to be hired in Happy Valley, many of those former commits are finding other homes to start their collegiate careers. 

On Monday, 4-star wide receiver Jahsiear Rogers announced that he will be heading to Norman, Oklahoma, to join the Sooners after a gameday visit for OU’s Week 9 loss to Ole Miss. He is the second former member of the Penn State 2026 class to flip his commitment, joining three-star defensive lineman Alexander Haskell, who committed to Syracuse last week. 

Jahsiear Rogers flips to Oklahoma as Penn State’s 2026 class continues to fall apart

The Delaware-native is the 52nd-ranked wide receiver in the country according to 247 Composite Rankings. He had been committed to Penn State since July of 2024, and received an offer from Oklahoma the day after he de-committed from the Nittany Lions on October 13. 

Rogers was one of the first players to de-commit from Penn State after Franklin’s firing, so it’s no surprise that he was quickly latched onto another program. It’s also one of the most damaging losses to the program and whoever eventually takes over because wide receiver is a position of desperate need for Penn State. 

In Penn State’s loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl to end last season, Drew Allar did not complete a single pass to a wide receiver. While that was partially an Allar problem, it prompted James Franklin to move on from Harrison Wallace III and Omari Evans for three veteran transfer wide receivers in their final season of eligibility. 

Franklin added Kyron Hudson from USC, Devonte Ross from Troy, and Trebor Pena from Syracuse. That group obviously didn’t help to elevate Penn State beyond its previous postseason failures, and couldn’t even prevent Franklin from losing his job. To make matters worse, there isn’t any proven talent on the roster behind them. 

Interim head coach Terry Smith can use the final four games of the season to evaluate his young wide receivers, but with redshirt freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer leading the offense against Ohio State and Indiana for the next two weeks, it’s unlikely anyone with the program will get a good read on players like redshirt freshman Tyseer Denmark or true freshman Koby Howard. Plus, there’s no certainty that either will stay in Happy Valley beyond this year. 

Penn State’s next head coach will have to overhaul an entire roster and two recruiting classes, so there is plenty of work to be done. Still, with losses like Rogers and others, adding wide receiver talent should be near the top of the list.