The commitment's in, and it's official that Penn State football will not add the talents of four-star Khary Adams to its class of 2026 recruits.
Adams announced on Friday, June 20 that he wil be attending Notre Dame following his senior season at Loyola Blakefield High School.
Class of 2026 cornerback Khary Adams commits to Notre Dame
Penn State was one of Adams' finalists as he neared his decision. Aside from the Fighting Irish, the Nittany Lions had Michigan, South Carolina, and Oregon to compete with for the four-star recruit. However, the likelihood of him choosing the Fighting Irish became evident after Adams canceled his visit with the Ducks and expressed how impressed he was after Notre Dame's visit.
This is especially disheartening for the Nittany Lions considering Penn State was, after Adams visit to Happy Valley, the frontrunner.
"I'm happy," Adams said, according to 247Sports. "I think the community, the people [at Notre Dame], it was all love. I was hanging out with the commits, and it was really good. They are all like-minded. To hang out with people that are in your class, it was good."
The No. 75 overall recruit, No. 9 overall cornerback, and No. 4 student-athlete out of Maryland connected with Notre Dame's head coach Marcus Freeman, defensive coordinator Chris Ash, and defensive backs coach Mike Mickens.
Adams, who's six-feet-two-inches and 175 pounds, took note of the current Fighting Irish in the secondary. Current starters, Leonard Moore, transfer DeVonta Smith, and Christian Gray Jr., are all similar to Adams' size. Moore, who's entering his second year with the program, was the 2024 FWAA Freshman Defensive Player of the Year and named to the FWAA Freshman All-America Team. The rising sophomore playing boundary cornerback is six-feet-two-inches and 190 pounds.
"They all look like me. They all have my measurements. They said boundary corner so I can make an immediate impact," Adams said. "That's how they see me."
As a two-way player, Adams also brings speed, which made him a priority recruit for multiple schools. Ash made sure to keep Adams on his radar throughout the spring. As a wide receiver at Loyola Blakefield, according to MaxPreps, he's totaled six touchdowns and 638 yards, of which 606 are receiving yards. In the secondary, he's made a total of 67 tackles and three interceptions.
This is the third priority target of Penn State's to commit elsewhere.
The first was Grayson McKeogh who also declared his commitment to Notre Dame. McKeogh noted, like Adams, that he could see himself meshing well with the players and current committed recruits. Now with the addition of Adams, the Fighting Irish have the No. 3 recruitment class of 2026. Penn State is still ranked seventh overall.
Luke Wafle was the next recruit to commit somewhere besides Penn State right before Adams. Despite his older brother Owen transferring to the Nittany Lions, Wafle decided to go with the USC Trojans. USC currently has the No. 1 overall class.