17 Penn State football recruits heading to Happy Valley for official visits this weekend

James Franklin’s summer football camps attract plenty of high school talent from across the country, but this weekend will be the busiest of the month for him and his staff. 17 potential Nittany Lions are heading to campus on Friday, June 14, and 13 of those have already verbally committed to play for Penn State. 

Penn State has already amassed a 2025 recruiting class of 14 players that just added a blue-chip piece last week in Daryus Dixson who committed after his official visit. Every other member of the class who had committed prior to the summer is arriving this weekend and will be joined by four-star tight end Andrew Olesh, four-star cornerback Jahmir Joseph, three-star wide receiver Taz Williams Jr. and three-star defensive lineman Randy Adirika. 

It’s likely that Penn State will garner at least a few commitments from that group and feel strongly about those players to include them with the majority of the 2025 class. The 13 committed players heading to Happy Valley include: 

• Alvin Henderson, RB, AL: 4-star
• DJ McClary, LB, NJ: 4-star
• Alex Tatsch, LB, PA: 3-star
• Matt Henderson, TE, VA: 3-star
• Dayshaun Burnett, LB, PA: 4-star
• Lyrick Samuel, WR, NY: 3-star
• Owen Aliciene, OT, CT: 3-star
• Brady O’Hara, TE, PA: 3-star
• Tiqwai Hayes, RB, PA: 3-star
• Bekkem Kritza, QB, FL: 3-star
• Kiandrea Barker, RB, AR: 3-star
• Xxavier Thomas, CB, PA: 3-star
• Michael Troutman, IOL, NJ: 3-star

The Nittany Lions are staying true to their longtime identity with this group of visits and commits that includes three running backs and three linebackers. The latter is a position of need in the program, especially after Abdul Carter’s move to the defensive line and Keon Wylie’s severe injury, but Penn State is well stocked at running back already, so it could be hard to hold onto such a strong class. 

Of the uncommitted players, Joseph is probably the highest priority target. An argument can be made for Olesh because a tight end is almost as good as adding a quality wide receiver, but with Luke Reynolds headlining the 2024 group and Matt Henderson and Brady O’Hara already committed in 2025, that room will get crowded fast. So, even with Williams coming to campus, if Franklin could ensure a commitment from that group, he’d likely choose another four-star cornerback to pair with Dixson.