Penn State football: No. 1 QB in 2026, Nittany Lion target predicted to land in the SEC

The Penn State football team continues to search for the next star recruit at the quarterback position. Since landing five-star Drew Allar in the 2022 recruiting class and four-star Ethan Grunkemeyer in the 2024 recruiting class, the Nittany Lions are looking to stack blue-chip recruits in one of the most important position groups in the sport. Penn State missed on 2025 in-state target Matt Zollers earlier in the year. Now, it appears they might miss again on the No. 1 QB in the 2026 recruiting class, Faizon Brandon. On Monday, he earned a prediction to land at Tennesee.

No. 1 QB in 2026, Nittany Lion target predicted to land in the SEC

Faizon Brandon is a five-star prospect from Greensboro, NC. He ranks as the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the 2026 recruiting class. According to the experts at 247Sports, he also holds the ranking as the No. 1 recruit in the 2026 cycle. Most recently, he made an unofficial visit to Tennessee over the past weekend. On Monday, Steve Wiltfong of On3 logged an expert prediction for the five-star quarterback to end up with the Volunteers.

This comes just days after Brandon was expected to cut his list of final schools down, in which he was expected to have Penn State on that list. He told Chad Simmons of On3 on June 1 that he wanted to narrow his list down soon. The schools that Simmons mentioned included LSU, Tennessee, Alabama, NC State, UNC, and Penn State.

Brandon made one visit to Happy Valley with the Penn State football team at the end of March. During that visit, he was offered a scholarship; however, after his latest visit to Tennessee, the Nittany Lions may need to look elsewhere for the next blue-chip QB.

FONG BOMB: On3's @SWiltfong_ has logged an expert prediction for Tennessee to land 2026 5-star QB Faizon Brandon🍊

Intel: https://t.co/0OjfLQNB7a pic.twitter.com/RqXx16gemS

— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) June 3, 2024

Dia Bell is expected to explore several schools in June

The No. 2 QB in the 2026 recruiting class is Dia Bell. The son of former NBA veteran Raja Bell has a strong relationship with the coaching staff at Penn State. Even with his strong ties to the Nittany Lion coaching staff, he has told Steve Wiltfong that he will be visiting several schools in June.

Bell will see Ohio State, LSU, and Florida State this month. As his national ranking continues to grow, Penn State will have its work cut out for them. However, one leg up they have on other programs is the relationship Bell has with Nittany Lion QB Coach Danny O’Brien. 

“He has a background of playing football at a high level, so he’s able to connect with his guys a lot better because he’s younger and he sees what they’re going through. He’s great with relationships, and that’s something he’s been big on with me.”

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