Ja’Juan Seider makes home visit to longtime Penn State football commit

Messiah Mickens shut down his recruitment earlier this spring. But that doesn’t mean other programs have stopped trying to flip the Penn State football commit.

On Saturday, Ja’Juan Seider returned to central Pennsylvania for a home visit with the four-star Harrisburg running back. However, this time, Seider made the trip for his new program, Notre Dame. The spring contact period opened on April 15.

Appreciate my guy stopping by today!!🤞🏽 @coachseider @Marcus_Freeman1 pic.twitter.com/ChGuYB50NE

— Messiah Mickens (@messiah_mickens) May 3, 2025

Recruited by Seider to the Nittany Lions, Mickens became Penn State’s first commitment in the 2026 recruiting cycle in August 2023. The top five prospect from the Keystone State initially ended his recruitment in January but changed his stance following Seider’s departure from Happy Valley to South Bend.

After meeting with James Franklin and new running backs coach Stan Drayton in March, Mickens canceled his planned official visit with the Fighting Irish and once again affirmed his Penn State pledge.

“I committed to that school for a reason, and I never wanted to be that kid who committed to three different schools,” Mickens said then. “I committed to that school for the tradition. Me being a kid in this state, it does mean a lot to me to play for my hometown school.”

Notre Dame continued to push forward with its recruiting efforts over the weekend, landing four-star Forney (TX) running back Javian Osborne on Saturday. Mickens remains the only commitment at the position for the Nittany Lions in their current 14-man class.

According to 247Sports, Penn State football has the No. 5 class in the nation for 2026. The Fighting Irish are currently outpacing the Nittany Lions, sitting at No. 2.

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