Matt Campbell’s first full recruiting class at Penn State has spent much of the offseason flirting with a top-five or top-10 ranking in the country. However, at times, that ranking has been inflated by how quickly Campbell, general manager Derek Hoodjer, and Penn State’s staff got to 20 commits. After the 247Sports rankings update, though, that’s no longer the case.
247Sports updated its rankings for the 2027 class on Wednesday, and after the reshuffling, the Nittany Lions sit at No. 7 in the country with 21 commits, are 13th by average recruit ranking, and have a new top recruit in the class.
That recruit is David Tarawallie, who was a composite three-star when he committed to the Nittany Lions on May 7. Then, he was already rising up the rankings after receiving his first FBS offer in March, but few would have guessed how high he would eventually settle.
After the update, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound offensive tackle from Painesville, Ohio, is the No. 67 overall recruit in the class, and No. 7 at his position.
Penn State 2027 OL commit David Tarawallie was just elevated by 247 Sports from an unranked 3-star to the no. 67 prospect in the entire nation.
— Zach Seyko (@zach_seyko) June 10, 2026
Scouting masterclass by Matt Campbell and company.
David Tarawallie is suddenly the top-100 talent Penn State is after
Campbell doesn’t have much experience swimming in the four and five-star waters. Yet he continually had success at Iowa State with classes loaded with three-star prospects. Part of that process is early identification, grabbing a commitment before that player explodes up the industry rankings. Now, he’s taken that philosophy and supercharged it in Happy Valley.
He did much of his work in the 2027 class early, then hosted most of those commits last weekend for an unorthodox official visit. Tarawallie was among the 19 commits on hand in Happy Valley, and at the time was not a top-100 player and the top-ranked recruit in the class.
With this rise, Tarawallie usurps Stanley Montgomery in the 247Sport rankings for that top spot. The in-state defensive lineman from Archbishop Ryan High School in Philadelphia is ranked No. 70 in the class. Tarawallie is teeming with potential for offensive line coach Ryan Clanton to tap into, and that process will undoubtedly include adding weight to his remarkably athletic frame.
His power isn’t quite there yet at 260 pounds, but the movement ability is rare for his size. Once he adds mass, he should be an impact offensive tackle in the Big Ten, and 247Sports evaluators must believe that can happen quickly because this ranking reflects a player who would be expected to contribute early.
Even for Campbell, who is used to uncovering hidden gems from his years in Ames, this is a meteoric rise. Some of that may be inflated by his Penn State commitment, while an Iowa State commit isn’t necessarily going to get the same love from the recruiting industry. Still, he’s now the highest-ranked player Campbell has ever landed, and the challenge will be to hold onto him through the Early Signing Period.
If Penn State got a bargain with Tarawallie, it may be time to renegotiate the terms. For now, it’s a major win, but as is often the case with late bloomers on the recruiting trail, this is likely far from over. Tarawallie still has official visits to USF and Wake Forest on the docket for this summer, but those could be subject to change after this development.
Add us as a preferred source on Google