Penn State football holds top three 2026 recruiting class in the country

The recruiting bug has struck for the Penn State football team once again. In the past week, the Nittany Lions have landed four verbal commitments, with three of them coming in the 2026 recruiting class. The progress has been made after a successful Lasch Bash weekend in Happy Valley. Now, Penn State holds one of the top recruiting classes in the country in 2026 early on.

We are over a year away from National Signing Day for the 2026 recruiting class. A lot can change in a short amount of time. However, as of August 1, Penn State football holds one of the top classes in the 2026 cycle. According to 247Sports and On3, the Nittany Lions have the second-best recruiting class trailing the Auburn Tigers.

Running back Messiah Mickens no longer needs to be the lone commitment in the 2026 class for Penn State, now he has four other classmates to be paired with. One of those commitments came from his fellow high school teammate and No. 1 player in Pennsylvania Kevin Brown. He made his pledge to the Nittany Lions on Saturday, July 27 after being on campus for the Lasch Bash.

Recently Brown has stated how he wants to be a leader within his class after his commitment.

“Penn State had it all, plus it’s the closest school, “Brown told Ryan Snyder of Blue White Illustrated. “So, I didn’t feel like delaying it any longer. I knew what I wanted to do. Also, I feel like because I’m committed now, I want to be a leader in our class.”

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The latest addition to the 2026 recruiting class for Penn State

© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Penn State football 2026 recruiting class was the first defensive addition for the Nittany Lions. On Wednesday, the No. 1 player in West Virginia, Daniel Jennings made his pledge to Penn State official. 

Jennings received multiple predictions on Monday to end up with the Penn State football team. One coming from an RPM from Ryan Snyder of On3. The other was in the form of a crystal ball that was logged by Brian Dohn of 247Sports. On Wednesday evening, Jennings made those predictions a reality with his commitment to the Nittany Lions.

He is regarded as the No. 1 player in West Virginia and the No. 22 edge rusher in the 2026 recruiting class (No. 227 nationally). Meanwhile, On3 gives Jennings a three-star ranking where he is the No. 1 player in the state and the No. 14 edge rusher in the 2026 cycle (No. 183 nationally).

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