James Franklin is heading into his 12th year as the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, and over that stretch, he’s been a good, maybe even great, but not quite elite recruiter. Yet, every few years, he assembles a top-tier recruiting class to inject his program with a burst of talent. The 2026 class is shaping up to be one of those years.
Only twice has Penn State landed a top-10 class in the country under Franklin, but with 16 commitments through mid-May, the Nittany Lions rank No. 5 nationally and No. 3 in the Big Ten. Yet, those rankings come without a five-star in the fray because the Franklin has yet to land the coveted headliner of the 2026 class, which is good news because that player could still be on his way.
Last year, Penn State didn’t land its top-ranked recruit in the 2025 class until early signing day when the coaching staff flipped highly-rated four-star tight end Andrew Olesh from Michigan. With the number of top-100 recruits that Penn State is currently in the mix for and who will be heading to Happy Valley for official visits this summer, the Nittany Lions won’t need to wait that long to finally lock down the star next year’s freshman class.
The Candidates: Penn State’s top 2026 recruiting targets
- Brandon Arrington, ATH, 5-Star
- Immanuel Iheanacho, OT, 5-Star
- Zion Elee, EDGE, 5-Star
Arrington took his trip to Happy Valley in early May and is expected to announce his commitment on July 5. The five-star athlete from Spring Valley, California, projects as a cornerback at the next level and is being heavily pursued by Texas A&M, Oregon, USC, and Alabama.
Immanuel Iheanacho and Zion Elee both hail from a Penn State recruiting hotbed in Maryland, but the Nittany Lions will have to do plenty of work to land either five-star. Auburn and LSU are gaining steam with Iheanacho after picking up official visits, and Oregon remains the likely front-runner. Elee, on the other hand, is committed to Maryland and would need to be flipped before signing day.
- Joey O’Brien, ATH, 4-Star
- Khary Adams, CB, 4-Star
Joey O’Brien is the most likely headliner for the Penn State 2026 class and could earn five-star status over the coming months. The in-state star is expected to play safety at the next level, but he could have a two-way role. Both he and Khary Adams were on campus last weekend as part of a loaded official visit weekend, and Penn State appeared to gain positive momentum with each. Adams, another Maryland product, is the No. 36 overall player by 247Sports rankings and 76th by their composite ranking.