The coaching carousel took a few more spins than usual this offseason, with multiple powerhouse programs making a move. Along with Penn State, Auburn, LSU, Michigan, and Florida, all replaced their head coaches. Of that group of new head coaches at programs that fancy themselves as national title contenders, nobody is having a better start to the 2027 recruiting cycle than Jon Sumrall.
Sumrall’s Gators rank No. 5 in the national recruiting rankings, but two spots behind them sit Matt Campbell’s Nittany Lions. James Franklin has Virginia Tech in the top 10, and Bob Chesney sits just outside it in his first offseason with UCLA; even Will Stein has thrust Kentucky into the mix, but so far, the top two recruiters from that group of first-year head coaches with new programs are Campbell and Sumrall.
Sumrall has already taken a pound of flesh from Campbell, plucking five-star offensive tackle Maxwell Hiller out of Pennsylvania with the help of former Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein. Now, Campbell has a chance, maybe not to return the favor, but at least to punch back in a head-to-head recruitment over four-star defensive lineman Elijah Guertin.
Elijah Guertin official visit will be a major proving ground for Matt Campbell
In some ways, Campbell has already proven himself to be a capable recruiter. Even if it’s slightly inflated by volume, his 21-commit class is top-15 by average recruit rating, and just added another top-100 commit as offensive tackle David Tarawallie shot up the rankings in 247Sports' latest update. In other ways, though, a few questions still linger.
There’s a skill to early identification, but Campbell hasn’t won many battles for proven blue-chip players, and he has seen the top talent in PA, not just Hiller but five-star running back Kemon Spell, leave the state. Four-star EDGE Abraham Sesay and four-star wide receiver Matthew Gregory are expected to do the same.
So, there is still more Campbell needs to prove, and edging out Sumrall for Guertin, the No. 190 overall recruit by 247Sports, would help him do that. Sumrall has the Florida donor base engaged and excited, which has led to a dominant run on the recruiting trail, including carving out pieces of typical Penn State recruiting territory with commits from Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia. Sumrall just beat Penn State out for New York four-star EDGE Zahmar Tookes, last week.
Elijah Guertin is Penn State’s new EDGE prototype
At 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, Guertin may have been an interior defensive line prospect for Franklin’s staff and defensive line coach Deion Barnes. However, for Campbell, D’Anton Lynn, and Ikaika Malloe, Barnes’s replacement, he’s an ideal heavy EDGE.
The Rhode Island native has the length and strength to set a hard edge, shed blockers in the run game, and enough pass-rushing pop to penetrate the backfield. As Penn State continues to veer towards a much bigger defensive line, Guertin would be a seamless fit. The issue now is getting him to stay in the Northeast, and his official visit to Happy Valley on Friday will be Campbell’s best chance.
Campbell didn’t get Guertin to last week’s OV, the biggest of the offseason for the Nittany Lions. He was in Gainesville instead. However, he didn’t commit to the Gators while in Florida, so the door is definitely still open for Penn State and Tennessee, which is still lingering in the race, for that matter.
By the Rivals Prediction Machine, Penn State is a slight favorite at 26.8 percent, but no expert predictions have been logged.
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