Penn State has two commits flip Tuesday as James Franklin’s 2026 class crumbles

James Franklin didn’t quite recruit on Ohio State’s level, but Penn State was consistently one of the most talented teams in the Big Ten and in the country. Now, as the program sheds Franklin’s putrid record against top competition, it also dismantled his pipeline of talent to Happy Valley.

Penn State’s top 2026 recruits have been under siege since Franklin’s dismissal, with many of them flipping or just outright de-committing from the program to pursue other options. The latest flips came on Tuesday night as three-star defensive lineman Isaac Chukwurah announced his commitment to Miami, less than a month from the start of the early signing period, and three-star offensive tackle Jack Fuchs committed to Northwestern. 

Isaac Chukwurah flips from Penn State to Miami

The 6-foot-2, 265-pound three-star from Bear, Delaware, is the 60th-ranked defensive lineman in the country. He committed to the Nittany Lions in April, but has been receiving offers and taking visits since. His recruitment further picked up after Franklin’s firing. 

When he signed with the Nittany Lions, Chukwurah was a zero-star recruit. Since then, he has shot up the recruiting rankings, and as a late-bloomer in the class, he may still be undervalued by the recruiting industry. 

Jack Fuchs flips from Penn State to Northwestern

Jack Fuchs was a later addition to the 2026 Penn State class, committing in late June after his official visit to Happy Valley. Franklin typically does much of his recruiting work early in the cycle, so early summer was still late for a Penn State commit. 

The 6-foot-8, 290-pound offensive tackle from Hendersonville, Tennessee, is the 483rd-ranked player in the country according to 247Sports Composite. He is now the highest-rated player in Northwestern’s 2026 recruiting class, which ranks 56th in the country. 

Penn State’s 2026 class continues to tumble down the rankings. With the losses of Chukwurah and Fucks on Tuesday night, the 14-commit class currently sits at No. 31 in the country. It could fall even further with Pitt in hot pursuit of four-star safety Matt Sieg and Ohio State and West Virginia locked in a recruiting battle over four-star offensive tackle Kevin Brown. 

Without a head coach in place, Penn State is helpless to hold onto its best recruits, and the class that Franklin assembled will continue to be raided up until the early signing period. 

With no recruiting foundation and a senior-heavy roster, the program’s next head coach will need to undertake a major overhaul that could see upwards of 50 transfer portal additions this offseason.