It’s not every year that Pennsylvania produces a top 10 recruit in the country, but 2027 is one of those special classes, and McKeesport running back Kemon Spell is that special player. Spell is the No. 1 running back in the country, the No. 1 player in the state, and the No. 7 overall player in the class.
Spell committed to James Franklin and Penn State in his sophomore season, before wavering from his commitment following the Nittany Lions’ loss to Oregon in 2025 and ultimately decommitting after Franklin was fired. On Monday, he spurned the program again, and this time, Matt Campbell is absorbing the blow after Spell committed to Georgia.
BREAKING: Five-Star RB Kemon Spell has Committed to Georgia, he tells me for @Rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) February 2, 2026
The 5’10 210 RB from McKeesport, PA chose the Bulldogs over Penn State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Miami
He’s the No. 1 RB in the 2027 Class on all websiteshttps://t.co/bSeLYeRfyb pic.twitter.com/bCmGmUUdGE
Kemon Spell headlines a loaded class of in-state recruits
Campbell and his staff had made inroads with Spell, who drew serious attention from Notre Dame and Georgia since decommitting from the Nittany Lions. However, Spell did not ultimately attend his scheduled visit to Happy Valley in mid-January, which proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Penn State.
Spell did take a trip down to Athens this past weekend, posting pictures from Georgia’s facilities on Saturday. He is now the top-ranked player in Georgia’s 2027 recruiting class, while Penn State is still without a 2027 commit. Georgia has the No. 6 class in the country with six commitments.
Matt Campbell can still salvage his 2027 class
The 2027 class featured a potentially generational crop of PA recruits, and Spell was the top dog. Not landing him could have ripple effects for the rest of the class. Spell is only the third of the top 20 players in PA, according to 247Sports Composite, to commit, joining No. 6-ranked in-state recruit James Halter, who is committed to Notre Dame, and the 18th-ranked player, Stanley Montgomery, a Syracuse recruit.
The top 13 players in the state rank inside the top 300 nationally, so Campbell still has plenty of time to salvage the class. That includes offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller, who is the 10th-ranked player in the country.
One of the biggest concerns about Campbell and his general manager, Derek Hoodjer, when they came over from Iowa State was their lack of experience recruiting five-star talent. They just never had access to those players in Ames, so it’s still an open question whether or not they’re capable of landing them. Losing Spell to Georgia is not a great start.