Penn State could be in danger of losing out on the No. 1 recruit in PA

In the 2025 football recruiting class, several four-star recruits played their high school ball in Pennsylvania. Of those eight, only two decided to commit and play for the Nittany Lions. 

This has been a storyline over the past few months among Penn State fans, and an issue that needed to be addressed for the next recruiting class. James Franklin could not let this happen again, and things look encouraging for their 2026 class within the state.

In 247sports’s Pennsylvania recruiting rankings, Penn State already has nabbed three of the top four players for 2026. Those three players include Matt Sieg, a safety ranked 71st nationally, Kevin Brown, an offensive tackle ranked 87th nationally, and Messiah Mickens, a running back ranked 163rd nationally. It has been a great bounce back in the state for Penn State’s football staff, but there is still plenty of work to be done.

Joey O’Brien is a 6-foot-3 safety from La Salle College in Glenside, Pennsylvania. He is the #1 player in the state, and is inside the top 50 recruits nationally. Penn State has been making a push for O’Brien, but his recruitment to Happy Valley looks cloudy at the moment. 

Tom Loy of 247sports and Mike Singer of On3 both predicted Joey O’Brien will commit to Notre Dame. Granted, these predictions were made several months ago, but they still should hold some weight. O’Brien has visited Penn State, Notre Dame, and Tennessee in the past several weeks. He told On3 Sports after his visit to Happy Valley that, “I really connect well with those guys.” 

A new team recently entered the sweepstakes for O’Brien, and they will be serious competition for Penn State and the other programs after him.

It would not be the end of the world for Penn State if they ultimately miss out on O’Brien. They still received commitments from the other three premier Pennsylvania recruits, with plenty of others in the top 10 yet to commit. O’Brien’s recruitment will be something to keep an eye on for Penn State fans, yet fans should temper expectations about O’Brien becoming a Nittany Lion.