Penn State football missed out on yet another four-star Class of 2027 recruit early on Monday, May 18.
Offensive tackle Layton von Brandt, who was originally a Nittany Lion commit before now Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin was fired mid-season from Penn State, was high on Notre Dame and Auburn. Leading up to his commitment date, which he pushed up by about six weeks, the Fighting Irish had a huge lead to land von Brandt.
On Monday, he turned his back on them and the Nittany Lions. During the live Rivals broadcast, Von Brandt went with the SEC and committed to the Tigers.
BREAKING: Four-Star OT Layton von Brandt has Committed to Auburn, he tells me for @Rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 18, 2026
The 6’6 290 OT from Middletown, DE chose the Tigers over Notre Dame, Florida, and Penn State
He’s ranked as a Top 5 OT in the 2027 Rivals Industry Rankings 🦅https://t.co/nahnWxww3a pic.twitter.com/nSC8QW0Cnu
Four-star offensive tackle Layton von Brandt commits to Auburn over Penn State and Notre Dame
The offensive tackle is the No. 64 overall recruit in the class and ranked No. 5 at his position, per 247Sports Composite rankings. Rivals Industry Ranking's only difference is listing Von Brandt at No. 75 nationally. He's also the No. 1 recruit from Delaware.
Auburn is getting a versatile offensive lineman who got snaps at both left and right tackle as a junior in 2025. He previously started at left tackle as a sophomore.
"The facilities, stadium , fanbase support, campus and the resources at your disposal are second to none anywhere in the country,” Von Brandt told Rivals. “Auburn is a special place for sure. I really enjoyed the energy at practice . . . Definitely an intriguing scheme as a recruit to want to be a part of."
The Tigers' staff recruited Von Brandt hard, having lengthy conversations over the phone and in person, staging home visits, and getting the Class of 2027 tackle on campus as much as possible. While he was committed to Penn State under Franklin for 11 months, he wasn't a frequent visitor, which made his initial decommitment an easy decision.
Notre Dame was the program to beat, though. The Nittany Lions alongside Auburn and Florida made late pushes to change Von Brandt's mind. According to 247Sports, the Tigers made a big enough move on Sunday, one day before his announcement, that flipped his decision.
The Nittany Lions No. 6 ranked Class of 2027 isn't vacant of offensive linemen. So, despite losing a four-star recruit from the north to the SEC, Penn State isn't in a bad spot in the trenches. They previously earned commitments from three-star tackle David Tarawallie, three-star interior offensive lineman Owen Reilly, three-star tackle Ryan Robbins, and three-star interior offensive lineman Jon Sassic.
Von Brandt would have been the third tackle in head coach Matt Campbell's class compared to being Auburn's second. On a larger scale, but similarly, he would have been the fourth tackle in the Fighting Irish's class. On top of being the fourth, head coach Marcus Freeman's highest ranked recruits are offensive tackles: four-stars Oluwasemilore Olubobola and James Halter. Olubobola recently committed on May 12, six days before Von Brandt made his decision.
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