Penn State football head coach Matt Campbell had a hot recruitment streak going before hitting a wall at the start of February. That doesn't mean all top or intriguing prospects are off the board for the Nittany Lions, though.
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A Philadelphia, Penn. native re-opened his recruitment on Feb. 3 after previously being committed to Syracuse. Three-star defensive lineman Stanley Montgomery made the announcement via Twitter/X on Tuesday. His statement read:
"After much thought and consideration and taking the time talking with my family I've decided to make the hard decision of decommitting from Syracuse University and re opening my recruitment I want to thank Coach Fran and the rest of the staff for taking the time to recruit me I'm excited to see what the future holds with the re opening of my recruitment"
After much thought and consideration, and taking the time talking with my family, I’ve decided to de-commit from Syracuse University and re open my recruitment. l@BrianDohn247 @PRZVicCastillo @PrepRedzonePA @TheJuiceOnline pic.twitter.com/sRyVn4ps3y
— Stanley J. Montgomery (@StanMonte27) February 4, 2026
Three-star defensive lineman Stanley Montgomery re-opens recruitment with Penn State still on the board
Montgomery is a three-star defensive lineman and ranked 537th overall from the Class of 2027, per 247Sports Composite rankings. He is also ranked 56th among others in his position group and is the No. 18 recruit out of Pennsylvania.
His decision to re-open his recruitment comes at the perfect time. Despite the flood of offers coming in on Feb. 3, the same day he de-committed, Montgomery also scheduled an official visit with the Nittany Lions. He is set to visit Campbell and his staff in Happy Valley on May 29.
This latest update from the defensive lineman also comes right after receiving an offer from Penn State and taking an unofficial visit as well. The offer was extended on Jan. 15 and he was on campus on Jan. 31. Montgomery's future commitment currently leans in favor of the Nittany Lions, according to 247Sports.
The in-state ties can do Campbell well in this scenario. After missing out on Class of 2027 five-star running back Kemon Spell from Pennsylvania, Campbell needs to buckle down and keep the in-state recruits at home. Given the chain of events, he should be in a good spot to do just that with Montgomery.