Penn State football is in the trenches of this 2027 recruitment cycle. A shocking flipped commitment to Rutgers from four-star Aiden Gibson stirred some chaos, but it should be another massive wake-up call for head coach Matt Campbell.
The Nittany Lions have the No. 20 overall class, according to 247Sports rankings as of early July, and it's not stacked with the kind of talent Campbell hoped for. There are plenty of areas for improvement, whether it be geographical location or position room, but Gibson's flip is a reminder that Campbell can't let his current commits out of his sight.
Three commits in particular stand out as priorities, and losing any of them would make this series of fiascos even more embarrassing.
1.) Wide receiver Landon Blum
This one's obvious. Four-star wideout Landon Blum is Penn State's only committed wide receiver in the class right now, and the days of projecting Campbell to land both blue-chip prospects Khalil Taylor and Deshawn Hall are gone. He also lost four-star Jamir Dean to Georgia.
Blum is a consensus four-star recruit ranked No. 240 nationally and No. 37 at wide receiver, per Rivals Industry Rankings. He's also the top prospect from Iowa. He wasn't ideally the highest-ranked wideout Campbell wanted, but he doesn't have any remaining four-star prospects at this position left on his board. Similarly, the Nittany Lions aren't projected to land any of the remaining uncommitted wide receivers they offered.
Thankfully for Campbell, Blum appears to be all-in on the blue and white. There hasn't been any talk of other programs getting in Blum's head, and the relationships he built with Campbell's staff were huge reasons why he chose Penn State.
Still, though, it doesn't matter if Blum seems to be a lock. Surprise flips can still happen, and Campbell has to seriously make sure he keeps Blum in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions' wide receiver room can't handle any more disaster.
2.) Defensive lineman Stanley Montgomery
In-state prospects were hard to rally for Campbell in this cycle, and he lost one in three-star cornerback Zachary Gleason Jr. when he flipped his commitment to West Virginia on June 11. The Nittany Lions have only three Pennsylvania commits, and four-star defensive lineman Stanley Montgomery is the only blue-chip of that trio.
Another consensus four-star prospect, Montgomery is ranked No. 107 nationally and No. 8 at his position. He's also the No. 6 recruit from the state, per Rivals Industry Rankings.
Prioritizing Montgomery hits a couple areas Campbell needs in this cycle.
Alongside being an in-state recruit, Montgomery's power and dominance on the defensive line provides necessary depth for Penn State's future. The Nittany Lions sustained a massive turnover in defensive line talent, and with a younger core in that room, having security with blue-chip talent coming in is essential. Montgomery is an explosive, well-rounded lineman Penn State can't let slip through the cracks in this class.
Keeping elite talent in-state is necessary, and the defensive lineman comes with a massive upside of being an incredible athlete at a priority position for the Nittany Lions.
3.) Offensive tackle David Tarawallie
Unlike Blum and Montgomery, Tarawallie isn't a consensus four-star prospect. However, he's still Penn State's top ranked recruit, per 247Sports, as the No. 67 athlete nationally. Tarawallie is also ranked No. 7 at tackle and No. 3 from Ohio.
Since he wasn't a high-end recruit back when he committed to the blue and white, he didn't have a giant list of offers. In due time, though, patience paid off and he rose to the very top of Penn State's class. This surge in ranking is something to keep an eye on, especially if Tarawallie starts piquing the interest of programs the Nittany Lions aren't competing well with in this cycle.
Offensive tackle isn't a position Penn State lacks either nor is Tarawallie an in-state prospect. However, that doesn't make him any less valuable or worthy of prioritizing. If his stock goes up and suddenly his interest in the Nittany Lions wavers, it's a bad look on Campbell.
As an honorable mention considering the lack of running backs in this class, rusher Chukwuma Odoh should also be a priority of Campbell's. While only a three-star prospect, it's a similar situation to Blum in the sense that having a position room completely untouched in this cycle can (and will) come back to bite Campbell in the future.
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