Matt Campbell arrived in Happy Valley this offseason, and while Penn State fans hope he brings much of what worked at Iowa State with him, he’ll also have to adapt to Pennsylvania’s powerhouse program. And while recruiting has forever changed with the advent of the transfer portal, that still means becoming ingrained in the state that typically sends the most high school talent to go play in the basic blue and black shoes on Saturdays.
In the 2027 cycle, it’s been a bit of a tough start. But Campbell has time to build relationships, and he'd better use it because you can’t succeed at Penn State without tapping these five pipeline states.
1. Pennsylvania
Of course, for Matt Campbell, it has to start in-state, and so far through his first full recruiting cycle, that’s been a struggle for the new head coach of the Nittany Lions. Only one of the top 20 in-state recruits in 2027 has pledged to the Nittany Lions, and both five-stars, Kemon Spell and Maxwell Hiller, are heading south to the SEC as Georgia and Florida commits, respectively.
Pennsylvania isn’t like Texas, Florida, or even a talent-rich one-major-school state like Louisiana, where if you just dominate the in-state recruiting, you’re going to be pretty good. However, it is a state that has produced a lot of high-level talent over the years, and Campbell needs to ensure that a majority of the best players in PA stay in PA.
2. Virginia
Traditionally, it may seem like a surprise for Virginia to be No. 2 on this list, but Northern Virginia, in particular, became a place where James Franklin could frequently turn for top players. In 2023, that included the state's top-two-ranked recruits, Alex Birchmeier and Tony Rojas, both NOVA natives, and six of the top 10 players. Over the years, Virginia has also produced Tyler Warren, Trace McSorley, Yetur Gross-Matos, KeAndre Lambert-Smith, and a bevy of top-ranked players who never quite panned out, like Ricky Slade and Devyn Ford.
Now, with James Franklin at Virginia Tech, that pipeline could simply get redirected from Happy Valley to Blacksburg, unless Campbell fights to keep it pointed northward.
3. Maryland
While Virginia became vitally important during Franklin’s tenure and is increasingly critical with Franklin taking up his new post at Virginia Tech, Maryland is the second-most common state for Penn State blue-chip recruits to come from. Since 2014, James Franklin’s first cycle, six top-100 recruits from Maryland have made their way to Happy Valley: Shane Simmons, Rasheed Walker, PJ Mustipher, Landon Tengwall, Curtis Jacobs, and Dani Dennis-Sutton.
Between the DMV area (DC, Maryland, and Virginia) and Baltimore, Maryland is an underrated hotbed for talent. Big-time high school programs like DeMatha Catholic and McDonough School have routinely sent players to Penn State. The top-ranked recruit in Penn State history, Derrick Williams in 2005, is also a Maryland product.
4. New Jersey
New Jersey is the third-most common state for Penn State blue-chip recruits to come from. Since 2014, five top-100 players have come to Penn State from New Jersey: Mike Gesicki, Justin Shorter, Odafe Oweh, Caeden Wallace, and Malachi Goodman. That’s a very solid haul, and though Penn State hasn’t fared as well in New Jersey in recent years, notably missing on five-star wide receiver Quincy Porter, it’s an important place for Campbell to make inroads.
5. New England
More Penn State talent comes from other places in the country, notably California, than it does from New England, which has never produced a bounty of high school football stars. Still, as the biggest program in the Northeast, a distinction Penn State easily holds over Syracuse, Boston College, UConn, and Rutgers, it matters that the Nittany Lions recruit the area well.
Silas Redd and Luke Reynolds came from Connecticut. Pat Freiermuth, Andrew Rappleyea, and in the 2027 class, QB Will Wood have come from Massachusetts. When there’s a good player in the Northeast, they should want to be a Nittany Lion.
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