Matt Campbell is doing things differently during his first official visit season at Penn State. Not just differently than James Franklin, differently just about every other coach in the country.
Campbell opted out of the first week of the OV season, not hosting a single recruit, and now this weekend, he has 26 players in Happy Valley, including 19 of the 20 he currently has verbally committed to the program.
The goal is to start building culture right away with the 2027 class, and to, hopefully, entice the few uncommitted prospects as they get swept up in the program. Campbell has done such great work early in the cycle that he doesn’t need a huge number of commitments to come out of this weekend or next, when the Nittany Lions are hosting five recruits, four of them uncommitted.
Still, while Campbell and his staff may not be after volume this weekend, they do need to add some high-end quality to the roster at a few key positions. One that is the program’s most identifiable: linebacker, and another that has been its most glaring weakness: wide receiver.
Luckily, or intentionally, the three players most likely to commit to the program this weekend, or in the near future after their trip to Happy Valley, are at those spots.
1. Case Alexander, LB, 4-star, Washington, OK
Case Alexander is Penn State’s highest-ranked linebacker prospect in the 2027 class and has a chance to be Campbell’s first true submission into the LBU legacy. The 274th-ranked player by 247Sports Composite, the lengthy linebacker navigates blocks well, has a natural feel for finding the ball-carrier, and is a great tackler in space. He’s the type of off-ball backer that Campbell would love to deliver to his new defensive coordinator, D’Anton Lynn.
According to the Rivals Prediction Machine, Alexander is the most heavily favored to commit to Penn State, so this one could get wrapped up quickly.
2. Khalil Taylor, WR, 4-star, Pittsburgh, PA
It’s not often that Pennsylvania produces two top-10 recruits in the country, but that’s the case in 2027 with offensive tackle Maxwell Hiller and running back Kemon Spell. Unfortunately, though, with Penn State’s messy transition from Franklin to Campbell, both snuck out the door to the SEC with Hiller landing at Florida and Spell finding his way to Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs.
Four-star edge Abraham Sesay is the highest-rated uncommitted PA prospect left in the class, but he’s between Notre Dame and LSU, so that leaves Taylor as the clear top in-state target for the Nittany Lions. His combination of speed, route-running feel, and excellent hands gives him WR1 upside, even in a 5-foot-11, 180-pound frame.
While Campbell and Hoodjer have been prioritizing bigger-bodied receivers since arriving in Happy Valley, they can’t pass up on a player like Taylor, a former Franklin commit and the No. 77 overall recruit. Considering the No. 5 player in PA, James Halter, is already committed to Notre Dame, they also can’t let the entire PA top-five leave the state in their first full recruiting class.
3. Tyson Washington, LB, 3-star Springfield, VA
Another tall, rangy linebacker with a propensity for violence, Washington has on-ball off-ball versatility that would have fit very nicely in the 3-3-5 defense Iowa State ran under Campbell with former DC Jon Heacock. Still, there will be plenty of utility for him in Lynn’s system, which still hasn’t clearly defined how it will use all of the second-level talent in Happy Valley.
Ultimately, Penn State faded, and Georgia was the primary competition to Virginia Tech and James Franklin for 4-star QB Peter Bourque. Washington’s recruitment, however, looks to be shaping up as a head-to-head between Campbell and Franklin. Northern Virginia was a pipeline for Penn State under Franklin, and now he’s attempting to redirect it to Blacksburg, so Washington’s recruitment is critical to monitor.
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