Penn State 4-star S commit flips to WVU to kick off embarrassing Early Signing Period

Penn State entered the Early Signing Period with just five commits left in its 2026 class, and few, if any, were expected to sign with the head coach-less Nittany Lions. For commits like four-star safety Matt Sieg, it was just a matter of which school they would flip to, and on Wednesday morning, we got that answer. 

Sieg was the first flip of the Early Signing Period – though there were many that came leading up to it – opting to sign with West Virginia. He and four-star offensive tackle Kevin Brown were at one time Penn State’s top two-ranked players in its 2026 class by 247Sports Composite, and both chose to join with Rich Rodriguez’s Mountaineers. 

4-star safety Matt Sieg flips to West Virginia

Sieg is the 179th-ranked player in the country according to 247Sports Composite and the No. 5-ranked player in Pennsylvania. The Fort Cherry High School product is another in-state recruit to leave PA after Franklin’s firing. He had interest from Virginia Tech, Indiana, Pitt, and took an official visit to Notre Dame since reopening his recruitment.

With Sieg committed to WVU, Penn State has just two of the top 10 recruits in Pennsylvania committed to the class. Since Franklin's firing, Brown and Sieg have flipped to WVU, and Messiah Mickens, the No. 8 player in PA has flipped to Virginia Tech. David Davis, who is ranked No. 11 has also flipped from Penn State to North Carolina.

Following Sieg's flip, Penn State has just three recruits left in the 2026 class: four-star linebacker Terry Wiggins, four-star edge Jackson Ford, and three-star cornerback Amauri Polydor. The class ranks 144th in the country, one spot behind Army and ahead of FCS North Dakota State. Currently, Columbia has a higher-ranked class.

Penn State has yet to hire a head coach after missing on BYU's Kalani Sitake at the start of the week, and on Wednesday, another top candidate, Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, took the head coaching job at USF.

Even if Penn State retains interim head coach Terry Smith as its full-time head coach for next season, the Nittany Lions will have little chance of locking in a 2026 recruiting class.