Penn State football lost class of 2027 wide receiver Khalil Taylor's commitment following the firing of head coach James Franklin.
The four-star wide receiver is the 56th ranked recruit in the country, according to 247Sports Composite rankings, and is the 11th ranked in his position. He is also the No. 3 student-athlete out of Pennsylvania.
Taylor initially committed to the Nittany Lions (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten) on March 29 and announced his de-commitment on Oct. 10. In his latest update, the wide receiver revealed he has a visit to Nebraska scheduled on Oct. 25. After de-committing, the Cornhuskers were reportedly one of the first teams Taylor had at the forefront of his mind.
Coincidentally, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule is one of the first coaches Penn State might have on its radar.
Nebraska will host recent Penn State decommit, WR Khalil Taylor, for a visit on October 25 in Lincoln. The Huskers were named as one of the teams Taylor wanted to visit immediately following his decommitment.
— Bryan Munson (@BryanMunson_) October 13, 2025
More: https://t.co/hymw0U9mEj pic.twitter.com/hU7EGSEGmf
Rhule is one of the candidates standing out immediately following the news of Franklin getting fired.
While his resume is enticing, it's not promising. In some ways, it's swapping out one Franklin for another. Rhule is 2-23 against ranked teams and 0-11 against Top 10 teams. The main interest surrounding Rhule is his past in turning programs around for the better, but Penn State is a whole other level to accomplish that. Franklin did the first step of that during his 11 seasons, not including the first half of 2025.
Alarming Matt Rhule stats will have Penn State fans worried of James Franklin 2.0
If it is Rhule who gets the job, though, what better way for Taylor to eventually find his way back to Happy Valley than through a head coach obstacle course. Especially given that the wide receiver room is lacking at Penn State, it might just work out in the program's favor if Rhule lands the job and brings his crew of former Nittany Lion de-commits right back over.
Joining Taylor with interest in Nebraska is five-star running back Kemon Spell. Spell announced his de-commitment and the Cornhuskers hopped on that opportunity immediately. They wasted no time showing interest in and starting the recruitment process. Somehow, someway, Penn State might just get back two elite recruits if the head coach hiring goes does a certain path.