Matt Campbell made the right choice following Trey Tagliaferri's Notre Dame de-commitment

Four-star quarterback Trey Tagliaferri from the Class of 2028 de-committed from Notre Dame on Wednesday, July 1. The news broke later in the evening less than 24 hours before Penn State football landed a four-star passer of its own.

James Armstrong committed to the Nittany Lions on Thursday, sharing a message soon after stating the "best in PA stay in PA." He's the No. 12 ranked quarterback in the class and No. 5 prospect from Pennsylvania, per Rivals Industry Ratings. A top ranked quarterback and elite talent from Penn State's backyard is exactly what it needed as it slowly pieces together its 2028 recruitment class.

Tagliaferri isn't an in-state prospect, but he is from New Jersey. Head coach Matt Campbell did well in the 2027 cycle recruiting talent out of that state. While Pennsylvania recruits are a priority, hitting the surrounding states is also important. It's more difficult for Campbell to reel in talent from the south, especially going up against the SEC. A couple commits here and there are huge wins, but it's not something the blue and white can rely on.

At quarterback, though, Campbell shouldn't turn his head away from Armstrong — and, luckily, he didn't. He has his guy and sticking by Armstrong was the right choice.

On Friday, Tagliaferri announced his commitment to Oklahoma.

Tagliaferri is the No. 213 recruit nationally, No. 13 quarterback, and No. 9 New Jersey native in the Class of 2028, per Rivals Industry Ratings.

Penn State allows Trey Tagliaferri to pass by after landing four-star quarterback James Armstrong

Before committing to the Fighting Irish, Tagliaferri took an unofficially visit to Penn State. This was his third visit to Happy Valley and second under Campbell's leadership. He previously visited campus for a spring practice on April 18.

While having another quarterback in the class wouldn't hurt Campbell, he has to be careful with how he goes about landing a second. Adding another blue-chip recruit and bringing in significant competition for a potential starting role can throw Armstrong off and rub him the wrong way.

Prior to his commitment, the Pennsylvania prospect told 247Sports that Campbell's all-in on him leading the Nittany Lions in the future. The last thing Campbell needs after scraping for a 2027 quarterback is to push away his in-state, blue-chip quarterback in the 2028 cycle.

Armstrong already believes staying in Pennsylvania is the right decision, so it should be an easy decision on Campbell's part on what kind of quarterbacks he pursues moving forward in order to keep Armstrong where he wants to be.

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