As if the stakes needed to be any higher for Penn State’s White Out matchup and Big Ten opener against Oregon on September 27, it’s also shaping up to be the program’s most important recruiting weekend of the fall. Through its first three games at Beaver Stadium, Penn State hasn’t had a showcase opportunity, so the No. 2 Nittany Lions have opted to stack many of their official visits with recruits for Week 5.
2027 four-star cornerback and top 50 national recruit Xavier Hasan is one of the latest prospects to lock in a trip to Happy Valley for the likely top 10 matchup between the Nittany Lions and the Ducks, a rematch of last season’s Big Ten Championship Game. The Raleigh, North Carolina prospect will join Ohio four-star Ace Alston and two other unranked cornerback recruits on the sidelines at Beaver Stadium, along with a bevy of other top recruits.
James Franklin adds 4-star CB Xavier Hasan to list of Week 5 visitors
James Franklin has made significant headway in the 2027 recruiting class, with four blue-chip recruits constituting a very tentative No. 1 national ranking for the program. The group of commits is headlined by five-star running back Kemon Spell, from Western Pennsylvania, who, after forgoing a trip to South Bend to visit Happy Valley again in Week 3, is still slated for a White Out visit.
Spell is Franklin’s top priority, which he proved by visiting him at McKeeseport High School to kick off the Nittany Lions' Week 4 bye, but the Nittany Lions have already landed two other top 100 recruits in the 2027 class, offensive tackle Layton Von Brandt and wide receiver Khalil Taylor. Hasan would be a nice fit with that group as the No. 49-ranked player in the country, but he has other powerhouse programs in pursuit.
Hasan named a top 12 in August, which included the likes of Notre Dame, Ohio State, Georgia, and Oregon, and he was impressed by his trip to South Bend for the Fighting Irish’s Week 3 loss to Texas A&M. It won’t be hard for a White Out Game to outdo that environment, but to have maximum impact on Hasan and other recruit, the Nittany Lions have to do what Notre Dame couldn’t; win the football game.
Oregon has been dominant to start the season and saw a swift rise up the AP Poll, before sliding two spots in the most recent edition despite handling Northwestern on the road in its Big Ten opener. Dan Lanning’s team is overhauled after last year’s undefeated regular season and conference title, but Dante Moore appears to be a perfect fit in Will Stein’s offense, while freshman wide receiver Dakorien Moore has hit the ground running.
James Franklin hasn’t always had the easiest time against top-10 opponents, but rarely has his team been ranked higher in those matchups. Week 5 is an opportunity for Penn State to prove it's a national title contender, to itself, and the collection of talented recruits slated to be in attendance.