Penn State football 2025 early signing day tracker

James Franklin has built one of the most sustainably successful programs in the country at Penn State and he’s done it without much drama on signing day. On Wednesday, December 4, the early national signing day period officially opened for members of the 2025 high school class. It will almost certainly be a predictably uneventful one for the Nittany Lions as they landed their 26-player class. 

However, even after early signing day, there could be plenty of drama still to unfold across the sport because this is the first year since the elimination of the National Letter of Intent (NLI). Instead, players will be signing scholarships, financial aid agreements, and potentially NIL deals. It’s still yet to be seen how much certainty this new version of signing day will provide even for the players who do put pen to paper. Still, if Franklin operates anything like he was for the past 11 years, then the Nittany Lions have known their class for a while and won’t see any big changes. 

Here are the players who have officially signed with the Penn State football program on early signing day: 

Henderson was a late riser in the 2025 recruiting class, but around the time he committed to Penn State in May, he made a considerable jump from a zero-star to a consensus four-star recruit. Despite a late flip and a position change, Henderson is the top tight end in Penn State’s 2025 class, one year after landing five-star Luke Reynolds who is a featured player in the Nittany Lion’s offense as a true freshman. 

Thomas committed to Penn State in December of 2023 and never took an official visit to another school. The Pittsburgh defensive back also lists an offer from Akron but never expressed interest anywhere but Happy Valley. 

By 247Sports Composite rankings, Goodman is Penn State's second-highest-rated player in the 2025 class behind defensive back Daryus Dixson, ranking as the 121st player nationally and the eighth-best offensive lineman in the country. 

O’Hara was listed as a tight end throughout his recruitment but was announced on signing day as an offensive lineman by Penn State. James Franklin and offensive line coach Phil Trautwein likely intend to add some weight to O’Hara and transition him to offensive tackle, which may have spurred the coaching staff to flip Purdue tight end Brian Kortovich. 

Troutman chose Penn State over Rutgers, Boston College, Duke, and Michigan State. He committed back in February and did not take any other official visits. His only listed unofficial visit was to Rutgers back in October of 2023. 

Penn State continues to load up on offensive line talent year after year. In the 2025 class, the Nittany Lions have landed offensive linemen, and next year Phil Trautwein will only need to replace two starters up front, center Nick Dawkins and right guard Sal Wormley. Trautwein has constructed one of the deepest OL rooms in the country, and Aliciene is another big addition.

Penn State’s No. 1 priority in the 2025 recruiting class was to add talent at wide receiver and when he committed back in February, Samuel began to solve that problem. The Brooklyn four-star has great size as a downfield threat and has a chance, as all four wide receiver commits in this class do, of contributing in Year 1. 

Exinor is officially listed as an athlete and there was a chance that as an oversized receiver, he could be a fit at tight end, however, he will likely provide significant versatility as a physical slot once he works his way onto the field in Happy Valley. 

Koby Howard is a true deep threat. Known for his excellent speed, Howard could be the field stretcher that Penn State desperately misses on its 2024 roster, a role that Omari Evans has struggled to fill consistently. The speed will translate, it’s a question of whether Howard can separate as a nuanced route-runner, and if he’s physical enough to win at the catch-point if he doesn’t. 

Matthew Outten is the perfect fit for Andy Kotelnicki’s offense because he’s a physical, versatile ball carrier who is tough to bring down. Outten is great after the catch and can create big plays on screens, jet sweeps, or even handoffs out of the backfield, but he’s also able to deep defenders downfield as a traditional wideout. 

Tiqwai Hayes was consistently pursued by schools hoping to flip the Aliquippa product in his senior year, but he remained loyal to the Nittany Lions, even after Penn State landed four-star Jabree Wallace-Coleman. Aliquippa is historic for producing NFL talent and Hayes could be next in line. 

Once Penn State lost four-star running back Alvin Henderson to Auburn, the Nittany Lions quickly turned to an in-state product in Wallace-Coleman to fill the void in the 2025 class. By 247Sports Composite rankings, Henderson, an Alabama native is the 104th-ranked recruit and fifth-best running back while Wallace-Coleman is No. 216 and RB16. 

Penn State has flirted with multiple quarterbacks in the 2025 recruiting class, but after landing four-star Ethan Grunkemeyer in 2024 and 4-star Troy Huhn in 2026, the Nittany Lions didn’t need to make a big splash at quarterback in this recruiting class. Krtiza has long been a Penn State commit and has prototypical size at 6-foot-5. 

After Purdue fired head coach Ryan Walters following a 1-11 record in his second season, Kortovich flipped his commitment from the Boilermakers to the Nittany Lions. With Brady O’Hara moving from tight end to offensive line, Penn State likely wanted to add another tight end to the class. 

Dayshaun Burnett has been listed as a linebacker throughout his recruiting process, but in Penn State’s announcement, he was listed as a defensive lineman. It’s likely that at just 220 pounds, Burnett will transition to become a defensive end, which could be important after the Nittany Lions just lost four-star edge rusher Jayden Woods to Florida. 

Penn State has always done a great job recruiting from Maryland, which is one of the biggest reasons that Franklin loves to run up on the score on Mike Locksley and the Terrapins. Franklin’s 2025 class features four players from Maryland, but only one ranked inside the top 10 in the state. Cortez Harris is the 12th-ranked player in the state.

Adirika had a busy June, committing to the Nittany Lions on June 9, and taking official visits to Miami and USC the same month. However, the three-star interior defensive lineman chose Penn State and has stuck with his commitment through early signing day.  

Chaz Coleman was a late riser in the 2025 recruiting class and despite a late push by Ohio State after his commitment to the Nittany Lions, Coleman is heading to Happy Valley. Defensive line coach Deion Barnes has been excellent at developing edge rushers and will need young players to contribute after Abdul Carter leaves for the NFL this offseason. 

Kemajou chose Penn State over Virginia Tech and Indiana and is the Nittany Lion’s highest-rate player out of Maryland in the 2025 class according to 247Sports Composite rankings. 

Tatsch missed much of his senior season at Latrobe with a shoulder injury, but with his great size and speed could be another great addition to Linebacker U, though he may not get to join St1x C1ty because of the program’s next signing. 

His father casts a considerable shadow over Happy Valley, but LaVar Arrington II has decided to follow in his father’s footsteps at Penn State. Arrington chose the Nittany Lions over Tennessee and UCLA. Listed as a linebacker, Arrington should have versatility as an edge rusher and off-ball backer. 

Playing his high school football at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, Smith is a top 10 player in the state of Pennsylvania. Franklin has long said that “the best in PA stay in PA” but in the 2025 recruiting class, Penn State only landed three of the top 10 players in the state, Smith, Wallace-Coleman, and Tatsch. 

Back in June, Thomas took official visits to West Virginia and Nebraska before heading to Happy Valley and committing two days after his visit to Penn State. Thomas plays both ways as a safety and wide receiver, but profiles as a defensive back for DB’s coach Anthony Poindexter. 

Joshua Johnson flipped his commitment from Louisville to Penn State back in October and at 6-foot-2, will likely play safety for the Nittany Lions in defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s scheme. 

Aside from wide receiver, cornerback was Penn State’s other biggest priority in this recruiting class and Franklin landed two potential stars on the outside in Jahmir Joseph and Daryus Dixson. Franklin was forced to dip into the transfer portal last offseason to add AJ Harris and Jalen Kimber, but he can rely on home-grown talent at the position going forward. 

Dixson is Penn State’s highest-ranked recruit by 247Sports Composite rankings. The Mater Dei High School product rounds out Penn State’s 18th-ranked class in the country with all 26 commits putting pen to paper on early signing day.