12 recruits in Happy Valley for Penn State football's first official visit weekend

The life of a college football coach never slows down. Even when there’s a bit of downtime for most of the college football world, recruiting starts to heat up. Over the weekend, James Franklin welcomed the first crop of 2025 high school recruits to Happy Valley for summer official visits and it was a group that featured multiple key recruiting targets for Penn State. 

Penn State currently has 13 players committed in the 2025 class, including three-star quarterback Bekkem Kritza who was in town for the first of Franklin’s summer football camps. 

Kritza, who has been committed to the Nittany Lions since November of 2023, wasn’t included in the group of 12 uncommitted high school players on official visits over the weekend. Kritza is scheduled to be back in town on the weekend of June 14, along with the other 12 already committed members of Penn State’s 2025 class. 

Franklin is hoping to lock down commitments from the 12 players in town over the weekend. 

• Quincy Porter, WR, NJ: 4-star
• Ty Jackson, LB, FL: 4-star
• Graceson Littleton, CB, FL: 4-star
• Max Granville, EDGE, TX: 4-star
• Cedric Works, EDGE, OH: 4-star
• Malachi Goodman, OL, NJ: 4-star
• Brandon Finney, CB, MD: 4-star
• Lex Cyrus, WR, PA: 4-star
• Corey Simms, WR, MO: 3-star
• Antonio Branch Jr. S, FL: 3-star
• Yvan Kemajou, DL, MD: 3-star

The obvious priorities among this group are edge rushers and wide receivers. Penn State is currently loaded on the edge with Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton leading the way. However, with those two possibly leaving for the NFL this offseason, Franklin and new defensive coordinator Tom Allen need to restock the shelves. 

Wide receiver, however, is a more pressing need, one that was addressed with the addition of Julian Fleming through the transfer portal, but still needs more attention on the recruiting trail. Quincy Porter, the most highly-rated receiver of the bunch, recently included the Nittany Lions among his top six finalists with Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma. 

Penn State currently has a commitment from 2025 three-star receiver Lyrick Samuel and two tight ends, Brady O’Hara and Matt Henderson.