In the wake of former head coach James Franklin's firing, class of 2026 and 2027 recruits quickly de-committed from Penn State and fully reopened their recruitment to other schools around the country. As teams, like Ohio State and Notre Dame, scheduled official and unoffical visits with many, the Nittany Lions (3-5, 0-5 Big Ten) must conquer another hurdle: Franklin himself.
If going up against Top 25 teams wasn't hard enough, former commits are coming out, saying that wherever Franklin ends up, that school becomes an automatic consideration.
Four-star Matt Sieg is one that announced that Pittsburgh, Indiana, and West Virginia are three schools at the top of his list. In addition to that specific trio, he said, according to KDKA Radio, that rounding out the quartet is whichever team hires Franklin.
The class of 2026 safety is ranked 16th at his position and is the 180th overall recruit, according to 247Sports Composite rankings. Sieg is one of the headlining recruits from the class of high school seniors alongside offensive tackle Kevin Brown, who recently visited Ohio State in its 38-14 win over the Nittany Lions. Losing both would be a huge hit to Happy Valley.
On Nov. 7, Landon Tengwell foreshadowed a major Penn State rebuild starting at the foundation of the roster.
The Nittany Lions have a surplus of upper classmen, especially seniors — like quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, defensive ends Zuriah Fisher and Dani Dennis-Sutton, offensive lineman Nick Dawkins, linebacker Dominic DeLuca, safety Zakee Wheatley, and defensive tackle Zane Durant. That's just to name a few.
Difference makers on the field and in the locker room are leaving, and that's not to mention the number of players who plan on entering the Transfer Portal. Staff changes, not just at head coach, are going to cause roster numbers to drop drastically.
Penn State also has to account for the number of players who might follow Franklin on top of the recruits who will follow him as well. Franklin was never one to rely on the Transfer Portal to build out a roster, using it instead to boost the team where it's needed, like at wide receiver heading into 2025. Athletic director Pat Kraft and the incoming staff that's yet to be determined will need to opt for a different method.
Recruitment is going to be at an all-time low depending on who is hired as head coach, especially if key commits, like Sieg and Brown, leave for another school. Franklin will poach players whether they're still in high school or are in the Transfer Portal. The Nittany Lions are going to look almost entirely different from 2026 onward.