Penn State football is causing a stir in the media from recruitment concerns to worries about "Big Game James" in 2025-26. While it's not all happy news in Happy Valley for head coach James Franklin and his Nittany Lions, here's what you missed.
Roseby Lubintus flips commitment from Penn State to Syracuse
Three-star offensive tackle Roseby Lubintus decommitted from the Nittany Lions on July 9 and flipped his decision to the Syracuse Orange. He believed that the Orange were a better fit for him overall despite making several visits to Penn State throughout his recruitment.
Lubintus left offensive line coach Phil Trautwein with four-star tacke Kevin Brown, three-star tackles Jack Fuchs and Marlen Bright, and three interior offensive lineman Benjamin Eziuka from the class of 2026.
James Franklin won't be on the hot seat in 2025-26
CBS Sports released a ranking of all 136 college football head coaches and the likeliness of them being on the hot seat ahead of the 2025-26 season. Three Big Ten coaches are warm in the "All good . . . for now" category, but Franklin's job is still "Safe and secure." Penn State won't need to worry about finding a replacement anytime soon for its football program unless Franklin really crashes and burns.
"Big Game James" is causing concern for Paul Finebaum
Paul Finebaum recognized that the pressure is piling up on Franklin. George McElroy agreed with Finebaum's statement, too, that Penn State has the most pressure heading into the upcoming season. However, the narrative of "Big Game James" is looming over the Nittany Lions.
If Franklin can't pull out wins when they're necessary, like the Big Ten Championship or any College Football Playoffs contest, it will be turbulent times in the near future.
Finebaum also expressed his distaste for Penn State's opening three weeks. While the Nittany Lions are smooth sailing through easy wins then taking a bye week before their first "real" matchup against Oregon in Week 5's White Out game, top teams are hitting the ground running with true competition.
NIL may be running recruitment and Penn State needs to get with it
The poor production in this recruitment cycle for Penn State football is becoming very apparent as top teams are pushing the Nittany Lions out of the competition left and right (or stealing commits they already have). While Franklin's more concerned with paying his high-performing veterans, other programs are making sure they have enough to dish out to the younger players too.
Penn State is paying an average of $59,000 in NIL on the class of 2026 while 23 other schools are overriding that number. All 15 schools ranked above the Nittany Lions in terms of their recruitment class strength are out-paying Penn State.
Penn State men's basketball lands first class of 2026 commit and hockey seeks another talented player to join the roster
In better news across Penn State Athletics, men's basketball received its first commitment from the class of 2026.
Small forward Dionycius "Nyce" Bakare announced his decision on July 7. When he comes to Happy Valley, he'll join a relatively young crew of Nittany Lions and hopefully support head coach Mike Rhoades' rebuilding efforts.
After getting Gavin McKenna's commitment, the men's hockey team is now seeking other recruits from the Canadian Hockey League.
Porter Martone has four finalists, Michigan, North Dakota, Michigan State, and Penn State, he's considering committing to. The Spartans have a chip on their shoulder with this recruitment battle after losing out on McKenna. Michigan and North Dakota are also high-quality programs the Nittany Lions will have to beat.