Penn State can't sleep on this Big Ten dark horse threat in recruitment

Penn State football has quite a few recruitment foes across the country, many coming out of the Big Ten. Ohio State, Oregon, Nebraska, and Notre Dame are just a few teams the Nittany Lions often find themselves in contention with for blue-chip prospects and are often the programs that snatch recruits away from them too.

Now, a new Big Ten threat emerges that Penn State should keep an eye on.

The Buckeyes earned a commitment from four-star quarterback Brady Edmunds on Dec. 2, 2024. Over a year later, Edmunds decided that his recruitment process wasn't over.

Hayes Fawcett of On3 reported that the Class of 2027 quarterback will take an official visit to UCLA on June 5-7. This is the only other team Edmunds has an official visit scheduled with that isn't the Buckeyes. It is also the only team he's visiting since his commitment. He is scheduled to visit Franklin County June 19-21.

This sudden development in Edmunds' recruiting also mirrors what Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has been up to with Class of 2027 quarterbacks. According to Ryan Stano of Scarlet & Game, Day has sought out Nebraska quarterback commit Trae Taylor as a result of Edmunds losing interest.

Head coach Matt Campbell had a tough time with quarterbacks in this class, so securing Will Wood is essential as other Big Ten programs start hunting for new Class of 2027 passers to add to their rosters. Luckily for the Nittany Lions, the three-star quarterback appears to be all-in with Penn State. Losing him isn't likely, but then again anything can happen from now until the early signing period.

The Bruins getting aggressive in recruiting and signaling that a flip against Ohio State could be on the horizon can't be ignored. Though the Nittany Lions aren't directly involved in or affected (right now) by the Edmunds situation, the surge in UCLA's recruitment is definitely something Campbell should take note of.

The Bruins have the No. 8 overall Class of 2027, per 247Sports. This is just one spot behind where Penn State is ranked. Both squads have 20 players currently committed from the class.

While the blue and white remain the highest-ranked Big Ten recruitment class, the Bruins are on their way to claiming that top spot. Especially if they manage a flip in Edmunds' commitment, they are on track to being No. 1 in conference recruiting with a four-star quarterback on their roster.

The top five Big Ten classes are currently Penn State, UCLA, USC, Ohio State, and Oregon in that order. With the Buckeyes losing steam and potentially losing their commits along the way, it's a wary situation for the Nittany Lions who are prone to being on the wrong side of flips. Depending on how this quarterback drama pans out for the Bruins and Ohio State, Campbell has to ensure no other Big Ten schools can steal his commits, including the dark horses in the conference.

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