Matt Campbell has essentially condensed the entire official visit period into two weekends. The first and by far the largest begins on Friday, June 5, when Penn State hosts 19 of its 20 verbal commits in the 2027 class on a 26-recruit visit.
The purpose of hosting such a large visit, a practice Campbell imported from Iowa State, is to begin building culture within the class before they ever officially enroll at Penn State. With six uncommitted recruits, and potentially Florida commit Zahmar Tookes, on hand, it’s also to seduce those uncommitted players with that newly-formed bond and to get them to join the class.
Much of the attention will be on top-100 in-state wide receiver Khalil Taylor, a former James Franklin commit who de-committed after Franklin was fired midseason. Taylor’s commitment would come at a position that has been, at least in recent years, a weakness for the Nittany Lions. However, four-star Case Alexander could join a legacy of great Penn State linebackers as Campbell’s first submission into LBU.
Case Alexander is Penn State’s top linebacker target in Matt Campbell’s 1st full class
Campbell brought a bevy of talented linebackers with him from Ames. Kooper Ebel led the Cyclones in tackles last season, while Caleb Bacon was second on the team, and Cael Brezina made 29 tackles in just nine games. The group is transitioning from Iowa State’s 3-3-5 defense to new Penn State defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn’s more traditional 4-2-5 look that Ebel described as having “a different flow to it.”
Penn State has plenty of depth at the second level with Ebel, Bacon, and Brezina joining Tony Rojas, who is returning from injury, and rising sophomore Alex Tatsch, who impressed down the stretch last season as he burned his redshirt before sustaining an injury in bowl prep.
The Cyclone triumvirate is distinctly Campbell’s players, but they aren’t distinctly Nittany Lions. Much of Tatsch’s promising career will happen under Campbell’s tutelage, but he was a four-star recruit in James Franklin’s final class at Penn State. Alexander, if he chooses the Nittany Lions as he’s heavily favored to do, would be the top linebacker commit in Campbell’s first full Penn State class and the best candidate to join the ranks of LBU.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Washington, Oklahoma native is the No. 312 recruit in the 2027 class according to Rivals Industry and the No. 26 linebacker. He has four-star status, and with his combination of length, speed, and flashes of coverage fluidity, he has the chance to be a high-level off-ball linebacker at the Power 4 level.
Alexander isn’t a true coverage linebacker. His best skill might be his instinctual ability to navigate blocks and find, or carve, a path to the ball-carrier. That helps him as a blitzer as well, and his closing speed and accuracy as a tackler lead to plenty of solo tackles. Still, he’s comfortable in space, often split out as an overhang slot defender, which is what Campbell and his former DC Jon Heacock would have asked him to do a lot of in Ames.
He’ll be just as good a fit in Happy Valley, so long as Campbell can close the deal this weekend with the help of his 19 2027 commits.
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