Penn State pulls major signing day upset, reuniting with former 4-star QB commit

There’s no way that the Early Signing Period for the 2026 high school class won’t be a disaster for Penn State, but whoever is leading the recruiting charge in Happy Valley is doing their best to salvage the shipwreck. Four-star edge rusher Jackson Ford, a longtime in-state commit, was the first to sign with the program, but in a shocking upset, he won’t be the only player putting pen to paper to join the Nittany Lions. 

Without a head coach in place, Penn State was able to reunite with former James Franklin commit Peyton Falzone. The in-state four-star QB flipped from Penn State to Auburn over the summer but de-committed from the Tigers once Alex Golesh was named the program’s head coach, replacing Hugh Freeze, who was fired midseason. Ironically, Falzone began his recruitment as a Virginia Tech commit in June 2024.

Once Falzone de-committed from Auburn, the 20th-ranked QB in the 2026 class became the top uncommitted quarterback in the country. He was recruited by Penn State quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien, who may or may not be on the staff once Franklin’s successor is finally named. 

4-star in-state QB Peyton Falzone signs with Penn State in the Early Signing Period

Over the summer, both Falzone and four-star QB Troy Huhn were committed to Penn State, but Falzone flipped to Auburn. Following James Franklin’s firing, Huhn de-committed from the program and signed with Virginia Tech on Wednesday, reuniting with Huhn. 

While major QB dominoes fell at the top of the class with five-star and top-ranked passer Jared Curtis flipping from Georgia to Vanderbilt, the shockwaves did not seemingly reach Falzone. Georgia has yet to find a replacement for Curtis in the 2026 class, and without another major opening available, Falzone retreated to his home state Nittany Lions, where he could have a chance to compete for the job immediately. 

Penn State has yet to hire a head coach, but once it does and the transfer portal opens, there’s a good chance that most of the roster tests the open market. Hiring interim head coach Terry Smith may offset some of those departures, but either way, Ethan Grunkemeyer could leave. 

The redshirt freshman quarterback took over for Drew Allar after the senior starter suffered a season-ending injury in Franklin’s final game. Grunkemeyer led the Nittany Lions to a 3-3 finish with just over 1,000 passing yards and six touchdowns to four interceptions.