PA’s No. 1 WR, teammate to Nittany Lion commits, picks Big Ten foe over Penn State

Penn State football is well on its way to a top 10 recruiting class in the 2026 cycle. And although James Franklin and his staff have leaned on Harrisburg High School as the linchpin to their recruiting success in 2026, the Nittany Lions came up short in adding another highly ranked in-state prospect to the class. 

On Wednesday, Harrisburg wide receiver Elias Coke committed to Rutgers over Penn State football. In addition to the Nittany Lions, Coke chose the Scarlet Knights over Miami, Michigan, and Notre Dame. 

Coke visited Penn State 11 times during his recruitment, the most of any school.

Watch Harrisburg’s Elias Coke’s (@EliasCoke1) commitment video. pic.twitter.com/g7p7uXcceT

— Pennsylvania Sports (@pasports) January 15, 2025

Early in the 2026 recruiting cycle, Coke ranks as a top 15 prospect in the state, coming in at No. 13 in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He is the No. 56 receiver and the No. 381 overall prospect in the country. Coke is the top true receiver in Pennsylvania for the class.

Coke is the teammate to Kevin Brown and Messiah Mickens, the No. 1 and No. 4 in-state players for the cycle, at Harrisburg. Together, the Brown and Mickens help make up a Nittany Lions recruiting class that was No. 4 in the national rankings coming into Wednesday.

All told, Penn State football has eight commitments in the 2026 cycle, just two off the national standard set by Oregon and Texas A&M, each with 10 pledges.

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