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Penn State football: Nittany Lions trending for 4-star regional athlete

The Nittany Lions are the current favorites to land a major New Jersey recruit.

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Penn State football, Cam Smith, 2024 recruiting class
Sep 24, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin gestures from the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Central Michigan 33-14. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

Last weekend, during the Blue/White spring game at Beaver Stadium, James Franklin welcomed many of his top 2024 and 2025 recruits to campus for a massive recruiting weekend. Since the spring game, Penn State football recruiting has locked down a few major commitments and is trending for a number of other top-ranked talents with later commitment dates. Over 63,000 fans were in attendance for Penn State’s spring game, which stood out to a few of the Nittany Lions’ recruits, including four-star regional recruit Cam Smith of Salem, NJ.

Penn State football recruiting: Nittany Lions trending for Cam Smith following Blue/White visit

First off, according to the 247 Sports Composite rankings, Cam Smith is a four-star regional recruit that is fairly high up on the big board for Penn State football. The composite rankings list Cam Smith as the No. 256 recruit in the 2024 recruiting class, the No. 27 athlete in the class, and the No. 8 recruit in New Jersey. As of late, Penn State football has been hitting its New Jersey pipeline more often, and Smith could continue this trend.

Following his Penn State football recruiting visit, Cam Smith was thrilled with the environment despite it only being the spring game — he also pointed out that the teams on the field played some solid football, which impressed him (per On3).

While he has no crystal balls at this time, Penn State football holds the lead for his recruitment according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (49.3%). The next-closest program in the race is the Rutgers Scarlet Knights — his home state school — who boast a 22.6% chance to land Cam Smith.

This is unquestionably a major recruitment to watch for Penn State football fans throughout the remainder of spring and this summer.



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Penn State coach James Franklin comments on recruits requesting NIL payments for recruiting visits

Last week, Ohio State AD Gene Smith testified before Congress that some prospects are requesting NIL payments to go on recruiting visits. Today, James Franklin commented on if the same thing has happened at Penn State.

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Penn State football head coach James Franklin answers a reporter's question during a press conference at football media day in Beaver Stadium on Sunday, August 6, 2023, in State College.

NIL has significantly changed the landscape of college athletics since its official introduction in July 2021. Penn State football, like everywhere else, has had to adjust accordingly. For better or worse, NIL is now a consideration in recruiting, the transfer portal, and current roster management. However, some, including Ohio State AD Gene Smith, believe that NIL has become uncontrollable and have been advocating for federal legislation on the issue. Testifying before Congress last week, Smith made the shocking claim that some recruits are requesting NIL payments in exchange for visiting college campuses. In his weekly press conference today, head coach James Franklin insinuated that Penn State has experienced the same circumstance.

Ohio State AD Gene Smith claims players ask for $5,000 for recruiting visits

Last week, Ohio State AD Gene Smith, along with representatives from the college sports world, testified before the House Committee on Small Business regarding the impact of NIL on college athletics. Smith’s testimony, which advocated for federal legislation policing NIL practices, broadly discussed the effect of the NCAA’s policy changes on Ohio State.

However, in one eyebrow-raising portion of the testimony, Smith claimed that prospects now request NIL payments in exchange for recruiting visits.

“…NIL implementation has not been without challenges,” Smith testified, in part. “When NIL was sanctioned by the NCAA, “bad actors” emerged, seeking personal gain from their ability to influence a young person and/or a family regarding an institution. This has always been a challenge, but NIL has allowed this behavior to be more aggressive. In professional sports, drafts preclude this issue, but the collegiate model relies upon recruiting, not drafting.”

“For example, student-athletes and their parents visit campuses at the expense of those universities to evaluate where they may make a commitment,” Smith continued. “A practice of asking a school for a fee to simply visit campus has emerged; asking for $5,000 just to visit has become common. During visits, discussions now emerge regarding how much a student-athlete can expect from NIL.”

Penn State football coach James Franklin comments on if recruits have requested NIL payments for visits

Today, Smith’s comments on Capitol Hill made their way to Happy Valley. During his weekly press conference ahead of Saturday’s matchup with Northwestern, James Franklin was asked if similar situations have arisen at Penn State.

“As you can probably imagine, it’s kind of like we had the discussion a few, maybe it was a year ago, when something came out from that school [Ohio State], as well, and they talked about a number, and you guys wanted to know if my number was similar, and I said, well, why would my number not be similar,” Franklin said. “People seemed shocked by that.”

Of course, Franklin’s response references comments from Ohio State head coach Ryan Day that a $13 million NIL payroll was needed to compete at an elite level in college football. While Franklin wouldn’t address the issue outright, the rest of his answer suggests that the issue is more commonplace in college athletics than many would expect.

“As you can imagine, the schools that you’re mentioning, we’re all dealing with the same challenges and issues,” Franklin continued. “We all are. So yeah, sometimes I think things are said publicly that maybe you guys weren’t aware of before. But yeah, we’re all dealing with the same challenges and issues because most of us are all recruiting the same guys. That’s about as far as I’ll get into that…”

On the field, Penn State football travels to Evanston, Illinois, this week to take on Northwestern.



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BREAKING: Penn State football lands top 10 prospect in PA

Brady O’Hara a top 10 prospect in PA commits to Penn State.

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Oct 19, 2019; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Pat Freiermuth (87) reacts to a touchdown run by quarterback Sean Clifford (14) against the Michigan Wolverines during the second quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY S

The Penn State football team has now gone three straight days a landing a commitment. Brady O’Hara has made his commitment to the Nittany Lions. He is a top 10 prospect in Pennsylvania. The 2025 class has added DJ McClary and Tiqwai Hayes in the past two days. Both players are part of Penn State’s 2025 recruiting class. The impact of the whiteout continues to prove its value on the recruiting trail.

Penn State football lands top 10 prospect in PA

Brady O’Hara is a four-star recruit in the 2025 class and he plays his high school football at North Catholic High School located in Pittsburgh, PA. He held offers from Wisconsin, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, UConn, and Penn State. Then, on Tuesday morning he announced his commitment to Penn State on his social media channels.

O’Hara is currently ranked as the No. 8 prospect in Pennsylvania.

Brady O’Hara plays both sides of the ball

O’Hara is listed as an athlete on 247sports because he plays both tight end and defensive end. It will be interesting to see what position he will choose to play when he gets on campus. But after watching Tyler Warren and Chop Robinson on Saturday night either position would fit him well.

Either way, he has shown that he can be successful regardless of where he lines up on the field. He can be a great red zone target or a dominant defensive end. Both positions at Penn State have developed well over the years which helped their case land this top 10 prospect in Pennsylvania.



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BREAKING: Penn State football earns commitment from 4-star RB from PA

The Penn State football team has gone back-to-back days landing commitments. As they add another 4-star prospect to the 2025 recruiting class.

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Penn State football, Tiqwai Hayes, 2025 recruiting
Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins tackles Penn State running back Nick Singleton near the line of scrimmage during the White Out game at Beaver Stadium Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, in State College, Pa.

After a successful whiteout game where the Penn State football team handled its business, recruiting is picking back up. Yesterday, the Nittany Lions earned a commitment from Top 100 linebacker DJ McClary. Now, James Franklin and his coaching staff go back to back days landing a commitment. The 2025 recruiting class has just earned a new member, Tiqwai Hayes.

Penn State football earns commitment from 4-star RB from PA

Last week Tiqwai Hayes received a crystal ball predicting him to land at Penn State. Today, he made that prediction become reality as he made his commitment to the Penn State football team. Hayes is a four-star prospect from Aliquippa, PA in the 2025 recruiting class according to 247sports. He attends Aliquippa High School where he has made an outstanding name for himself.

Tiqwai Hayes chose Penn State over Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Maryland, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, and several other schools. His nickname is “Tikey” according to his Twitter/X profile and he rushed for 2,011 yards and 33 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2022.

Penn State currently has the 9th-best class in the 2025 recruiting cycle. With the addition of Hayes that should increase the Nittany Lions’ position. He will join KiAndrea Barker as the other running back commitment in this class, a theme we have seen for years. Ja’Juan Seider likes to have a pair of running backs in each cycle and he has done that yet again. In 2022 it was Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Then, in 2023 it was London Montgomery and Cam Wallace. Currently, in 2024 it’s Quinton Martin and Corey Smith. Now, in 2025 it’s KiAndrea Barker and Tiqwai Hayes.



Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at [email protected] or direct message us on our social media. Also, be sure to check out our new site shop. It’s due to your support that we can become one of the market’s fastest-growing Penn State sports outlets!

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