Even with a hot start, Matt Campbell’s 2027 recruiting class has already become something of a polarizing topic.
If your expectations were that Penn State’s recruiting efforts would take a hit post-James Franklin, then a class that currently sits with 20 commits and ranks in the top 10 in the country is a home run. However, there are justifiable reasons for concerns about a group that doesn’t include a single top-100 prospect and only four in-state commits.
For the latter group, Abraham Sesay would silence all alarms in one fell swoop. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound four-star edge from Downingtown East High School in Eastern Pennsylvania is the No. 50 recruit in the country, a top 10 edge, and the No. 3 recruit in PA. The only issue is that he’s not trending towards the Nittany Lions.
Abraham Sesay’s LSU visit could spark an LSU/Notre Dame battle that leaves Penn State behind
While he’s a composite four-star, Rivals has Sesay as a five-star talent and the No. 16 player in the country. By the Rivals Prediction Machine, Notre Dame is a major favorite to land his commitment at 87 percent. However, there is still plenty of time to change that, and that’s exactly what Lane Kiffin and Ed Orgeron are going to attempt to do this weekend in Baton Rouge.
Sesay began his multi-day visit to LSU on Friday, the first of four scheduled official visits this spring. Sesay has previously taken unofficial trips to Happy Valley, but with pressure mounting for a commitment as the top players at his position have largely made their pledges, his official visit schedule includes LSU, Duke, Notre Dame, and Florida State.
Kiffin is a powerful recruiting force on his own, but now with the full backing of LSU, which paid handsomely to buy Brian Kelly out of his contract and doesn’t intend to spare any expense after, he’s putting together an elite class and breaking longstanding connections. He’s made inroads with top wide receiver Easton Royal, and with Sesay, he has a secret weapon since Orgeron, the former national championship-winning head coach of the Tigers, re-joined the staff.
Penn State isn’t the most well-resourced program in the country, but its war chest is seemingly comparable to other Power 4 programs that plan to contend for championships. Money goes a long way, but it’s not the only factor in a recruitment, especially when multiple programs with deep pockets are in the mix. So, while Penn State may be able to punch up with LSU and Notre Dame financially from time to time, Campbell likely isn’t ready to outdo Kiffin and Marcus Freeman, so this race could quickly get away from the Nittany Lions.
That’s not necessarily a huge knock on Campbell. He’s just never run a program that swims in the murky four and five-star recruiting waters, and that will not likely ever be where his bread is buttered. The question then becomes: Is Campbell a good enough developer of talent to match those programs?
Penn State is betting that he can, so missing out on an occasional in-state five-star, or three between Kemon Spell, Maxwell Hiller, and now likely Sesay, is a trade the program will have to be okay with making.
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