George Kittle has made Tight End University a yearly summit for the position, but as far as college tight end factories go, his Iowa Hawkeyes may not have the title any longer. After Tyer Warren’s dominant 2024 season, Penn State staked a claim to the TEU title, and Matt Campbell isn’t about to relinquish it.
Campbell brought two top tight end transfers with him from Iowa State, Benjamin Brahmer and Gabe Burkle, to help replace the outgoing Luke Reynolds. Then, on Monday morning, he made another addition on the recruiting trail, picking up South Dakota four-star Cooper Terwilliger as the seventh member of Penn State’s 2027 recruiting class.
BREAKING: Four-Star TE Cooper Terwilliger has Committed to Penn State, he tells me for @Rivals⁰⁰The 6’5 235 TE from Pierre, SD chose the Nittany Lions over Notre Dame
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) April 13, 2026
He’s ranked as a Top 10 TE in the 2027 Class (per Rivals Industry)⁰⁰“WE ARE”https://t.co/zvyIUQRiOn pic.twitter.com/ddaL77IY7s
Penn State beats out Notre Dame for 2027 4-star, Cooper Terwilliger
Under Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame has increasingly become a recruiting nemesis to Penn State. However, that’s usually from the Irish invading the Northeast. In this case, Campbell and his offensive coordinator, Taylor Mouser, leaned on their Midwest roots to land the 6-foot-3, 235-pounder out of Pierre, South Dakota.
Terwilliger is the top player in South Dakota and the No. 12 tight end in the 2027 class. He’s also the second-highest rated player in Penn State’s rapidly expanding 2027 class, which is notable as Campbell and his staff dip their toes in the four and five-star waters for the first time.
While Terwilliger isn’t a top-100 recruit, at least not heading into his senior year, beating out Notre Dame for a high-level four-star is a good sign for Campbell, and for Penn State’s tight end pipeline.
Keeping Andrew Rappleyea out of the portal was a major win for Campbell and Mouser, who also serves as Penn State’s tight end coach. However, Reynolds and former four-star Matt Henderson both followed James Franklin to Virginia Tech, and 2025 five-star Andrew Olesh transferred to Oregon after redshirting his freshman season in Happy Valley.
While Brahmer, Burkle, and Rappleyea will all play major snaps in 2026, those departures were a significant blow to Penn State’s pipeline of tight end talent, which was never a concern under Franklin. Terwilliger alone doesn’t ensure that Penn State will stay TEU long-term, but he’s a significant pickup and a positive step in that direction.