Restocking the shelves in the defensive backfield has been a multi-year project for James Franklin and his revolving door of defensive coordinators, from Manny Diaz to Tom Allen and now to Jim Knowles. Last offseason, after losing Kalen King, Johnny Dixon, and Daequan Hardy to the NFL, Penn State added AJ Harris and Jalen Kimber in the transfer portal, but with Kimber exhausting his final year of eligibility last season, the Nittany Lions continue to prioritize long-term solutions on the outside.
The 2025 Penn State recruiting class featured two four-star cornerbacks, Daryus Dixson and Jahmir Joseph, but with 2024 four-star Jon Mitchell entering the transfer portal after redshirting his freshman year in Happy Valley, the position is still a significant recruiting need. So, four-star 2026 cornerback Khary Adams is one of Franklin’s top recruiting targets in the class.
4-star CB Khary Adams takes unofficial visit to Penn State
According to Tyler Calvaruso of Lions247, Penn State is set to host multiple recruits for Monday’s spring practice session. That group includes Adams, who is set for an official visit to Happy Valley on June 6. The Towson, Maryland, product is the 29th overall player in the 2026 class according to 247Sports, the third-best cornerback prospect, and the third-best player in the state of Maryland, a recruiting hotbed for the Nittany Lions.
With 11 commits, Penn State’s 2026 class is ranked No. 7 in the country and headlined by four-star safety Matt Sieg. Along with Sieg, safeties coach Anthony Poindexter and cornerbacks coach Terry Smith have added three-star corner Julian Peterson, three-star athlete David Davis, and three-star safety Darrell Carey. That’s already a solid group for a class that is still in its relative adolescence, but Adams would immediately become the long-term foundational piece that Franklin has been so desperately seeking on the back end of his team’s defense.
The Nittany Lions are likely set to enter the 2025-26 season with Harris and junior Elliot Washington II as the two starters on the outside, and Washington’s continued emergence likely prompted Mitchell’s spring portal departure. While that’s a talented duo with two years of eligibility remaining each, Adams – already 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds entering his senior year of high school – could compete for playing time from Day 1 on campus.
The four-star also has official visits set for South Carolina, USC, Notre Dame, and Oregon, so Franklin is locked in a major recruiting battle with serious Big Ten flavor.