Penn State football named ‘biggest recruiting winner’ in June

The Penn State football team took care of business during the month of June. When it seemed like the Nittany Lions were falling behind with various targets deciding to take their talents elsewhere, James Franklin and his staff were prepared. After a strong several weeks of official visits, Penn State landed nine recruits in June in the 2025 recruiting class and was named one of the biggest recruiting winners of the month by On3.

It all started with Daryus Dixson, he was the first domino to fall for the Nittany Lions. On June 10, the Santa Ana (California) native who attends Mater Dei High School made his pledge to Penn State. Dixson, a four-star is regarded as a top 15 cornerback (No. 141 nationally).

Then, recruiting started to accelerate. Penn State secured cornerbacks Jahmir Joseph on June 17 and Antonio Booker on June 19. That led to an explosive weekend where the Nittany Lions secured Pennsylvania’s very own running back Jabree Wallace-Coleman on June 22.

Less than 24 hours later, safety Braswell Thomas made his commitment, and later in the evening on June 23, DE Cortez Harris pledged to play in Happy Valley. In the final week of the month, Penn State dipped into Texas and Maryland to secure DE Max Granville on June 24 and WR Jeff Exinor on June 28.

When it was all said and done, Penn State finished slightly behind Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, and Ohio State for the top recruiting success in June. But the Nittany Lions were tied for the highest amount of commitments in the month (9). The average rating for Penn State was 90.21 where as Alabama’s average was 92.28 according to On3.

Biggest recruiting winners in the month of June‼️📈

Read: https://t.co/BF2nQcFDOd pic.twitter.com/AAL5BEOh7Y

— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) July 1, 2024

Penn State did lose two commitments last month

Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

While it sounded all positive on the recruiting trail for Penn State football. James Franklin did lose two pieces to the puzzle in June.

Rumors swirled around running back Alvin Henderson for the past few months. The Alabama native always shared deep ties with Auburn. Henderson was quoted saying “they’re willing to do whatever they have to [to flip me]” at the end of May. Despite his return to campus for an official visit, Henderson ultimately chose to flip to Aubrun on June 21.

Two days later, it was linebacker DJ McClary who decided to flip his pledge from Penn State to Rutgers. The Scarlett Knights are building a strong 2025 recruiting class and McClary wanted to stay home. At the time, McClary was the Nittany Lion’s highest-rated linebacker in the cycle. So, while Penn State added nine prospects they lost two due to the nature of college football recruiting.

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation! Please follow us on all of our social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube) and subscribe to our newsletter 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 basicbluesnation@gmail.com or direct message us on our social media.