Penn State football closes in on five star prospect, No. 1 edge rusher in 2026

Landing one of the top prospects in the country is never easy. However, if a school is in the hunt at the end of a player’s recruitment, odds are they have a chance to earn the commitment. That’s where the Penn State football team and James Franklin find themselves in regards to five-star 2026 recruiting class edge rusher Zion Elee. On Saturday, he narrowed down his college selection to five schools and the Nittany Lions are very much in the hunt.

Zion Elee is regarded as one of the top prospects in the country in the 2026 recruiting class. 247Sports ranks the five-star Joppa (Maryland) native as the No.1 player in the state and the No. 1 edge rusher in the cycle (No. 2 nationally). Meanwhile, On3 ranks Elee as the No. 2 player in the state and the No. 1 edge rusher in the country (No. 8 nationally).

Standing at 6-3 220 pounds, Elee is an elite prospect who will likely be a star at the next level. On Saturday he told Chad Simmons of On3 that he was down to his final five schools. He included Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State football.

He has taken two unofficial visits to Happy Valley with the most recent visit on June 2. Elee has transferred to St. Frances Academy for the 2024 season, leaving Joppatowne

🚨NEWS🚨 2026 5-star EDGE Zion Elee is down to Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State, he tells @ChadSimmons_‼️

Read: https://t.co/Mh7yTtnkFu pic.twitter.com/ukWXFlZMlv

— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) August 3, 2024

Experts compare Elee to ex-Penn State football edge Chop Robinson

Syndication: Hanover Evening Sun.

It wasn’t too long ago when the Penn State football team acquired a former five-star edge rusher from Maryland in the transfer portal. That player of course was Chop Robinson, who played two seasons in Happy Valley before becoming a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to the Miami Dolphins. Ironically, that’s who Zion Elee is drawing comparisons from according to Hudson Standish of 247Sports.

“One of the more complete edge prospects in recent memory at this stage of the evaluation process ahead of his junior season. It feels as if he was built in a lab to get after the quarterback, verified hovering around 6-foot-4, 220 pounds with elite length measurements and a combine testing profile that could be mistaken for a field-stretching X receiver.

“Verified athletic markers are good enough to compare favorably against rising senior edge rushers from the past two recruiting cycles. Outside of the athletic traits, has a natural feel for the position that allowed him to rack up 13 sacks in only nine games, even though his bag of pass-rushing moves isn’t deep at this stage of his development.”

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