BREAKING: No. 1 player in New Jersey decommits from Penn State football

Things have been going extremely well for James Franklin and Penn State football lately. The Nittany Lions are 2-0 and ranked as the No. 7 overall team in the nation after two very impressive wins. On the recruiting trail, Penn State currently is pushing for top 10 classes in the 2024 and 2025 cycles. Those goals for the latter recruiting cycle took a hit on Tuesday, however. This afternoon, Jaelyne Matthews, the No. 1 player in New Jersey for 2025, decommitted from Penn State.

No. 1 player in New Jersey Jaelyne Matthews decommits from Penn State

In January, Jaelyne Matthews kicked off Penn State’s class of 2025 recruiting in a strong way when he committed to the Nittany Lions. The four-star prospect is the No. 11 OT in the country, the No. 83 overall prospect, and the No. 1 player in New Jersey, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

With Matthews’s help, Penn State built its class up to No. 6 overall for the 2025 cycle. However, there will now need to be a reevaluation after Matthews’s decomittment today.

“After careful consideration, I have decided to respectfully decommit from Penn State,” Matthews told Rivals this afternoon. “This has been a difficult decision, as I have the utmost respect for the university, its coaches, and the entire Penn State community.”

“After much reflection and discussion with my family and mentors, I believe it is in my best interest to explore other options for my academic and athletic future,” Matthews continued. “This decision was not made lightly, and it comes after countless hours of thought and contemplation.”

Respect my decision 🙏@RivalsFriedman @RivalsRichie pic.twitter.com/0BijpDP4XY

— Jaelyne Matthews (@JaelyneMatthew3) September 12, 2023

Jaelyne Matthews did appear to be all in on his commitment as recently as two weeks ago, when he visited Happy Valley for the Penn State football season opener against West Virginia. However, 247Sports reports that today Matthews received offers from Arkansas and Texas. He has also received a crystal ball to Georiga from 247Sports Director of Football Recruiting, Steve Wiltfong.

While it’s unclear what this means to Penn State’s chances of landing the No. 1 player in New Jersey moving forward, Matthews will still likely be at the top of the big board for the Nittany Lions.

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