Penn State football suffered a massive flipped commitment on Tuesday. Four-star running back Aiden Gibson stepped away from the Nittany Lions and committed to Rutgers.
Gibson pledged his loyalty to Penn State on May 12. He was the first rusher head coach Matt Campbell landed in this cycle, which was soon followed up with a commitment from three-star Chukwuma Odoh. Odoh is now the lone running back in the Nittany Lions' 2027 class.
The Scarlet Knights were Gibson's No. 2, but when it came down to his initial commitment, he leaned on the relationships he built with Campbell's staff and the vision Penn State had for him long-term. However, the flipped decision just under two months later could've been due to Gibson having to take a backseat in Happy Valley initially.
Regardless of the reason why Gibson suddenly de-committed from Penn State, a lot of eyes are on Campbell and his recruiting strategies. Likewise, a lot of questions are being raised as to whether he was the right fit for the job.
Campbell's whiffed on quite a few blue-chip prospects, including five-star running back Kemon Spell and four-star wide receiver Khalil Taylor — two Pennsylvania natives in this cycle who gave the Nittany Lions a serious second shot at their commitment. When Gibson's ranking improved from a three- to a four-star, it made Spell's Georgia commitment less heartbreaking. Now, it's hard to argue that Campbell can compete with both SEC and Big Ten schools in the offseason.
"I’m trying to wait until the season starts to have a certain opinion on Campbell and his coaching staff but it’s getting hard with him getting outbid by Nebraska than Rutgers," one fan commented after Gibson's flip.
I’m trying to wait until the season starts to have a certain opinion on Campbell and his coaching staff but it’s getting hard with him getting outbid by Nebraska than Rutgers
— Maye Maxing (@MayeMaxer) July 7, 2026
Spell, Taylor, and Gibson are just a few names in this cycle Campbell failed to land. Four-star wideout Deshawn Hall chose Auburn over Penn State despite the blue and white being favored to land him following his official visit.
Not following through and landing touted prospects is already bad enough, but not retaining recruits is even worse.
Former head coach James Franklin also had his faults when it came to recruiting, suffering flipped commitments himself even before the disappointing 2025 season. At the very least, fans knew what they were getting with Franklin in that sense. Landing a five-star headliner was the main priority under Franklin, but with Campbell, the priority has now shifted to keeping prospects committed — the bare minimum.
That's not to say Franklin shouldn't have been fired. His ceiling in Happy Valley was reached and the inability to rally a team full of returners and elite talent was evidence that his time at Penn State had run its course.
The issue at hand is that no matter how many reminders fans get about not comparing Campbell in year one to Franklin's entire tenure is that there are already glaring issues before the new Nittany Lion squad has hit the field on Saturdays. If Campbell can't put together an elite recruiting class, the development of the players he successfully recruits has to reach an elite level on the field. If he can't do either, then it'll be very clear sooner rather than later that Campbell wasn't the right fit for the job.
Add us as a preferred source on Google