Tumultuous summer of recruiting continues as running back dec-ommits from Penn State

The NIL and transfer portal era has brought much more uncertainty to roster construction in college football. James Franklin does all he can to avoid the dramatic signing days or yearly overhauls in the portal, but summer recruitment is inevitably tumultuous. 

At the running back position alone, Penn State has had four-star Alvin Henderson commit and de-commit, flipping to Auburn, then replaced him with in-state four-star Jabree Wallace-Coleman, has had multiple schools constantly after three-star Tiqwai Hayes from Aliquippa, and on Tuesday, the Nittany Lions had three-star Kiandrea Barker de-commit from the program. 

Barker announced his verbal commitment back in April of 2023, a day after an unofficial visit to Happy Valley. However, since then, Barker has been offered by Wisconsin, TCU, Auburn, Houston, USC, Duke, Colorado, and Arkansas. The Newport Arkansas native has only taken two official visits, one to Penn State and the other to Arkansas. 

After losing Barker, Penn State’s 2025 recruiting class is down to 23 players and just two running backs, Wallace-Coleman and Hayes. The Nittany Lions have the potential to lose both Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen to the NFL after this season, so Franklin has made a concerted effort to add talented players to the backfield in Happy Valley. Holding onto Wallace-Coleman and Hayes will be one of Franklin's top priorities throughout the 2024 season.

The 2024 recruiting class featured Quinton Martin Jr. and Corey Smith, who have both been impressive in their short time at Penn State, leading into their freshman seasons. Martin Jr. and redshirt freshman Cam Wallace will compete for third-string snaps behind the Lawn Boyz.