Penn State football head coach Matt Campbell is on a hot streak with Class of 2026 recruitment and is working on piling on the four- and five-stars from the Class of 2027.
Matt Campbell couldn’t be closer to proving his biggest Penn State doubters wrong
On Thursday, Jan. 22, associate head coach and cornerbacks coach Terry Smith took a visit to North Carolina to meet with a five-star cornerback recruit from the Class of 2027.
Joshua Dobson, a Cornelius, N.C. native, is the third-ranked overall recruit from his class and the No. 2 cornerback in the nation. He is also the No. 1 recruit from North Carolina, according to 247Sports Composite Rankings.
The highly touted young cornerback received his initial offer from the Nittany Lions nearly a year ago on Jan. 28, 2025. He has 28 offers in total and visited Clemson, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Tennessee, and Auburn since the 2025 regular season started.
🦁🦁🦁 @CoachTerryPSU pic.twitter.com/5W42llWnAb
— 5⭐️Joshua Dobson (@JoshDobsonDB) January 22, 2026
Terry Smith visits five-star cornerback Joshua Dobson in midst of Penn State's hot recruitment trail
While nothing is confirmed, including which schools Dobson is leaning towards, Smith's visit comes at a perfect time.
Penn State became much more prevalent in recruiting ever since Campbell was hired. Five-star running back Kemon Spell is highly considering re-committing to the Nittany Lions, four-star rusher Ty Keys has the blue and white as one of his top programs, and four-star wide receiver Khalil Taylor is also re-considering Penn State as his future collegiate team.
The only thing left for Campbell and the Nittany Lions is to hit the jackpot on at least two major targets. They brought in prioritized three stars, like edge rusher Elijah Reeder from the Class of 2026, and things are only looking up for the class of 2027. Campbell just needs that extra push, that last follow-through on one or two top recruits.
Other top targets from the Class of 2027 include edge rusher James Pace III, safety Gabe Jenkins, wide receiver Matthew Gregory, and wide receiver Myles McAfee, all four-stars. Four-star quarterback Peter Bourque, who committed to Michigan, remains a top target for the Nittany Lions. as well.