Penn State football is all over the country rallying recruits and their interest in anticipation for the new era underway at State College. Edge rushers coach Christian Smith visited Greenwich Country Day School on Friday, Jan. 23, seeing a top Nittany Lion recruit from the Class of 2027.
Top 10, 4-star edge rusher and Pennsylvania native set to visit Penn State
Edge rusher Mekai Brown previously took an unofficial visit to Happy Valley at the start of the 2025 regular season at the end of August. At the time, he was impressed with what he saw from the blue and white; but like many others, the downhill spiral they took turned him away from seriously considering the program.
Following Smith's visit, Brown made it clear that the Nittany Lions piqued his interest and are back on his radar moving forward. Penn State re-extended Brown an offer as well. According to 247Sports, the edge rusher is also interested in returning to Penn State on another visit to learn more about the coaching staff and head coach Matt Campbell, specifically.
After a great visit from @CoachSmith_9 I’m blessed to be re-offered by @PennStateFball!!! #AGTG@ChadSimmons_ @RyanSnyderOn3 @TomLoy247 @BrianDohn247 @SWiltfong_ @adamgorney pic.twitter.com/nck7l1wy0t
— Mekai Brown (@mekai_brown) January 23, 2026
Four-star edge rusher Mekai Brown expressed interest in Penn State again following visit
Brown is a four-star recruit from the Class of 2027 and is ranked No. 6 among all edge rushers. He is a Top 100 overall recruit as well, ranked 57th in his class. The Greenwich, Conn. native is also the No. 1 recruit from his state, according 247Sports Composite Rankings.
While re-sparking his interest is critical, the Nittany Lions have some tough competition to beat in order to land Brown's ultimate commitment. Among his 27 offers, Penn State is up against Georgia, Indiana, Ohio State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Syracuse, Texas A&M, Tennessee, and Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish were the most recent to extend Brown an offer aside from the Nittany Lions, doing so a day before on Jan. 22. The Volunteers were the only other program Brown took an unofficial visit with. On Nov. 15, he was at Tennessee for its game versus New Mexico State.
The news of Brown's interest came on the same day as edge rusher George Parkinson IV expressing his excitement in meeting the new coaching staff in Happy Valley. Like Brown, Parkinson is a Top 100 recruit, ranking 52nd in the Class of 2028.