Penn State battling with Michigan, Ohio State for No. 1 running back recruit

On Friday afternoon, one of the Nittany Lions’ top 2025 recruiting targets — four-star running back Gideon Davidson — released his top 10 remaining schools. Now the nation will see a Penn State recruiting battle between the Nittany Lions, Michigan Wolverines, and Ohio State Buckeyes. Here is more on Davidson and what he says about Penn State football.

Penn State recruiting battle: Who is Gideon Davidson?

Gideon Davison is a top Penn State football running back target in the 2025 recruiting class. The 6-foot, 190-pound talented running back recruit named his top 10 finalists, and the Nittany Lions made the cut along with two other major Big Ten football programs.

Davidson is rated as a four-star running back by On3, Rivals, and 247 Sports; additionally, he is ranked as the No. 19 player in the 2025 class, the No. 1 running back in the class, and the No. 1 player in the state of Virginia by 247 Sports. He has no crystal balls yet (which makes sense since his commitment date is likely over a year away), but Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State are all listed as ‘warm’ on the recruiting trail.

Why choose the Nittany Lions?

Here is what the elite 2025 running back had to say about the Nittany Lions amidst the Penn State recruiting battle.

“How can any running back not be interested in Penn State?” Davidson told On3. “Coach Franklin has visited me twice and he is easy to connect with. Coach AP is from Forest, VA, my home town. He is a legend here. Be pretty cool to play under him. Two RBs over 1k yards last year (Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen). Wow. And they are known for putting RB players in the league.”

While the Nittany Lions are just one of nine teams to make the most recent cut for the No. 1 running back in the 2025 recruiting class, Penn State football is already at the front of Davidson’s mind. The Nittany Lions must stay firm on this recruiting trail to lock down one of the most talented players in the class and beat out the Wolverines and Buckeyes.

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