Penn State football head coach Matt Campbell is quickly rebuilding the Nittany Lions' recruiting classes of 2026 and 2027.
Matt Campbell stacks another former Iowa State signee onto Penn State’s promising 2026 class
He didn't stop with five-star running back Kemon Spell, who threw the blue and white back into the mix and into high consideration for his commitment. Campbell rallied a bunch more talent, including plucking some of his former Iowa State recruits from the Cyclones and bringing them over to Happy Valley.
Class of 2027 running back Ty Keys is another star in the making, nicknamed "Mr. Showtime," who has Penn State at the forefront of his mind.
Ty Keys (@Ty_Keys5), the class of 2027 @247Sports 4đŸ”¥running back from Poplarville High School (Poplarville, MS), releases his Top 10. pic.twitter.com/pK1PKBCF1E
— NPGPX Design (@NathanPurvis) January 18, 2026
Four-star running back Ty Keys lists Penn State as one of his top 10 schools
The Nittany Lions are one of just two Big Ten programs Keys has in his top 10, alongside Oregon. His other top schools are Miami, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Louisville, Florida State, Mississippi State. and UCF. Needless to say, landing Keys won't be an easy path for Campbell, but that shouldn't derail his recruitment towards the young rusher.
Keys is a Mississippi native, ranking sixth from the state. The four-star running back is the 147th overall recruit and 10th-ranked rusher from the Class of 2027, according to 247Sports Composite rankings.
Penn State was one of the first five programs to extend an offer to Keys, doing so back in 2023 on Dec. 12 with the other four schools. Since then, his offers piled up to 17 with his most recent coming from the Seminoles. They offered Keys a spot on Jan. 10 and he attended their Junior Day on Jan. 17.
As a junior in 2025-26, Keys had 301 carries for 3,285 yards and 45 touchdowns. He had 12, 100-plus rushing yard performances over his 13 game appearances and averaged 252.7 yards per game on the ground. On top of that, the rusher got involved in the pass game as well. He had three receptions for 62 yards and one score. Over his high school career through his junior year, Keys has 550 carries for 5,072 yards and 76 rushing touchdowns.
The combination of Spell and Keys would be lethal if Campbell manages to get both of them at Penn State. Looking far into the future, another version of running back duo Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen could be on the horizon.