Koby Howard was the 477th-ranked player and 68th-ranked wide receiver in the 2025 recruiting class, but James Franklin may have found a diamond in the rough. After catching just seven passes for 133 yards as a true freshman, maintaining his redshirt in the process, Howard stayed in Happy Valley through the transition to Matt Campbell. Now, he could become a breakout star.
With elite vertical speed, Howard has turned heads in the offseason, and the hype has even bubbled out of state college and into the national conversation. Coming out of Penn State’s Blue-White Game, which was ultimately more of a spring practice, Josh Pate named Howard a potential “standout” for the Nittany Lions in 2026.
“I think he may be a standout for them this year,” Pate said on Monday. Caveating that claim with, “two of their top wide receiver options were out for spring, so he got a lot of attention, and he profiles as a solid wide receiver 3 option but with really, really good upside.”
Our boy @KobyHoward3 got a shout out from the great @JoshPateCFB on his show Sunday. Here’s the clip. Pumped 6 is getting some national recognition now. Hasn’t been a player in quite sometime that I wanted to see succeed as bad as Koby. Big season coming
— White Out Football (@WhiteOutFB) April 27, 2026
We Are 🦁 pic.twitter.com/5Q6dKvkEJK
Koby Howard could be ready for a breakout redshirt freshman season
While he wasn’t an elite recruit, Howard emerged as the top freshman pass catcher from what proved to be Franklin’s final recruiting class. The 5-foot-11, 202-pounder out of Pensacola, Florida, has seemingly gotten the attention of Campbell and his staff this spring.
“Koby’s got great potential,” Campbell said last week, “I think his whole thing is consistency.”
Penn State struggled to get the wide receiver position right in the waning years of Franklin’s tenure. That lack of talent prompted Campbell and his general manager, Derek Hoodjer, to bring Chase Sowell and Brett Eskildsen with them from Iowa State. Sowell and Eskildsen were Rocco Becht’s top wide receiver options in Ames last season, and project to enter 2026 at the top of Penn State’s depth chart.
Howard, however, should be in line for a considerable target share and is the type of dynamic playmaker who could turn limited opportunities into major production. Sowell is in his final year of eligibility, and Eskildsen is entering his junior year, so the Nittany Lions need a player like Howard to emerge as a long-term weapon in the passing game.
It’s been too long since Penn State produced a high-level homegrown wide receiver, but Howard, one of Franklin’s parting gifts, may be the next one.
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