2025 QB commit plans Penn State return amid turbulent season, per report

Miami Central (Florida) quarterback Bekkem Kritza is expected to return to Happy Valley this weekend to see No. 9 Penn State football take on No. 19 Illinois under the lights inside Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions’ only quarterback commitment in the 2025 recruiting cycle, the visit will mark the first time Kritza has been back to campus since his senior season took a left turn in South Florida.

Kritza’s planned visit was first reported by Lions247 recruiting insider Tyler Calvaruso on Tuesday. His last trip to State College was for the annual Lasch Bash in July.

Penn State quarterback commit Bekkem Kritza set for return to campus in midst of rocky senior seasonhttps://t.co/db7T3ZHmVd pic.twitter.com/aF8vhVbzsK

— Lions247 (@Lions247) September 24, 2024

Bekkem Kritza entered the fall as the starter for Florida high school football powerhouse Miami Central. But after a season-opening loss to Lakeland, the Rockets switched to a more mobile option in 2026 quarterback Anthony McQueen.

The move to jumpstart the offense has evidently paid off, as Miami Central has won four consecutive games since making the change. However, it didn’t come without its share of controversy, as reports quickly surfaced that the 2025 Nittany Lions commit was planning a midseason transfer out of the program. Those reports have since been refuted by members of the Kritza family.

Kritza has appeared in game action since McQueen was inserted as the starter, throwing touchdown passes in Central’s Week 2 and 3 contests. Kritza is the No. 38 quarterback in the 2025 recruiting cycle, per the On3 Industry Rankings.

One-time Penn State football target, top in-state quarterback suffers serious injury

© Grace Carella / Basic Blues Nation, 2024.

There’s been no indication, at least outwardly, that James Franklin and Penn State football have changed their stance on Bekkem Kritza in light of recent on-field developments.

But if the Nittany Lions are still considering adding another quarterback to their 2025 recruiting class, they’d most likely have to push for one of their former targets now committed elsewhere.

One of those former top targets, Spring-Ford’s Matt Zollers, recently experienced a major on-field setback of his own. Earlier this month, Pennsylvania’s top-ranked quarterback recruit suffered what PennLive described as a “gruesome lower leg injury” after taking a sack in a 21-12 loss to Downingtown West.

A five-star, Zollers is the No. 3 quarterback in 2025, according to On3. He committed to the Missouri Tigers over the Nittany Lions in April.

After losing four-star cornerback commitment Antonio Branch Jr. to Deion Sanders and Colorado on Monday, Penn State football now has dropped one spot, to No. 17, in On3’s 2025 recruiting cycle rankings.

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