James Franklin won’t wave the white flag on 2026 4-star Michigan commit

Titan Davis committed to Sherrone Moore and the Michigan Wolverines in June, but reportedly, that hasn’t deterred James Franklin. On Monday, Greg Smith of Rivals reported that Penn State and Alabama are still pushing to flip the 6-foot-4, 270-pound defensive line recruit from St. Louis, Missouri, and attempting to get him on campus for a gameday official visit this fall. 

Davis is not sure if he’ll take any additional visits, but he didn’t seem to close the door as Penn State attempts to add another priority recruit to its 2026 class and make up ground on Michigan in the process. 

Penn State looking to take a bite out of Michigan for 2nd straight season

Michigan currently holds the 10th-ranked recruiting class in the 2026 cycle, six spots clear of the Nittany Lions. Penn State’s 16th-ranked class is fifth-best in the Big Ten and only one spot clear of Bill Belichick and Michael Lombardi’s collection of talent in Chapel Hill. If Penn State intends to keep competing for national championships after Drew Allar, Nicholas Singleton, and its loaded group of veterans are gone, then it needs to make strides on the recruiting trail. 

Adding Davis, the 106th-ranked player in the country by 247Sports Composite, and flipping him away from Michigan, would certainly help that cause. It would also be the second year in a row that Franklin has delivered a surprise blow to Sherrone Moore late in the cycle. 

On early signing day in December 2024, the Nittany Lions managed to sway in-state four-star tight end recruit Andrew Olesh from his Michigan commitment. Olesh has yet to make an impact in his true freshman season, but the signing day addition pushed the Nittany Lions to No. 15 in the national recruiting rankings and dropped Michigan to No. 6. That No. 6 ranking was heavily weighted by five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, who is starting for the Wolverines this season and was flipped from his LSU commitment with an $11-million NIL package. 

Without Underwood, Michigan is closer to striking range for Penn State, but with 25 commits already locked in, the Nittany Lions likely won’t have much movement before signing day. Franklin typically does much of his recruiting work early and has relatively uneventful signing days, last year’s Olesh flip notwithstanding. 

As for the player, Davis is a disruptive interior penetrator with the quickness to knife into the backfield and the strength to hold up at the point of attack in the run game. He still has plenty of room to grow after beginning his high school career as a quarterback before transitioning to the defensive trenches, and as he refines his game, he’ll become more consistent. He’s the type of top prospect that Penn State loves to bet on and develop with defensive line coach Deion Barnes.