The battle for a top edge rusher in the Class of 2027 isn't getting any easier for Penn State football.
Earlier in the week, LSU hired its former head coach Ed Orgeron as a special assistant to recruiting and defense in horrible timing for Penn State. One of its top targets, four-star Abraham Sesay, is scheduled to visit the Tigers over the weekend of May 29.
On Friday evening, the Nittany Lions made their way into four-star edge rusher Ifeanyi Emedobi's final four. The downside to that is it's obvious they're an underdog in this Big Ten battle.
In addition to Penn State, Emedobi is considering Michigan, Indiana, and Minnesota. He has official visits lined up with all four Big Ten programs as well as South Florida. Emedobi will be in Happy Valley over the weekend of June 5 after he visits the Golden Gophers. He will see the Hoosiers, Bulls, and Wolverines after the Nittany Lions.
NEWS: Four-Star EDGE Ifeanyi Emedobi is down to Michigan, Penn State, Indiana, and Minnesota, he tells me for @Rivals⁰
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 22, 2026
The 6’2 214 EDGE is ranked as a Top 3 EDGE in Indiana (per Rivals)⁰⁰He’s locked in official visits to each of his finalistshttps://t.co/RMsEZvsko8 pic.twitter.com/b0RGa3qF2w
Penn State makes four-star edge rusher Ifeanyi Emedobi's final four flooded with Big Ten programs
Emedobi is the No. 435 overall Class of 2027 recruit and No. 37 edge rusher, per 247Sports Composite rankings. He's also the No. 10 athlete from Indiana. Per Rivals Industry Rankings, Emedobi is No. 452, No. 44, and No. 10, respectively in those categories.
Despite Indiana having the in-state advantage over the other three Big Ten teams, it's Michigan that's pulling away in this edge rusher battle. According to Rivals experts, the predictions for the Wolverines are flooding in. On Saturday, May 23, three Michigan-favored predictions were logged with at least a 60 percent confidence rating.
On May 11, Emedobi told The Michigan Insider that he can hopefully "call [Michigan] home for three to four years."
In 2025, Emedobi totaled 59 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 14 quarterback hurries, 6.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles over 11 games as a junior.
This battle for Emedobi is nearly a must-win for Penn State, especially with Orgeron putting up another recruiting roadblock for the Nittany Lions to overcome in Sesay's process. Their Class of 2027 is without an edge rusher, but even that isn't a worthy-enough pitch in this Power Four battle as the Hoosiers also don't have an edge rusher committed.
Other defensive ends the blue and white have on their list are four-stars James Pace III, Jackson Vaughn, and Prince Goldsby, and three-stars Raymond Hudson, Adekunbi Adetayo, and Chaz Gray. All six edge rushers don't have Penn State high on their lists, making head coach Matt Campbell's fight for either Sesay or Emedobi even more high stakes.
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