Penn State football commits to transfer, team up at high school powerhouse

The 2025 recruiting class for Penn State football is already taking shape. But before they team up on the Beaver Stadium turf, two future Nittany Lions are set to join forces on the high school gridiron this fall. Penn State RB commit Kiandrea Barker is set to transfer to Florida high school power Miami Central for his upcoming senior year. Barker will join forces with fellow 2025 commit Bekkem Kritza, who announced his return to Central last week.

Penn State commits Kiandrea Barker, Bekkem Kritza team up for senior season

On Thursday, Rivals reported that Penn State football commit Kiandrea Barker will make one final move in his high school career, transferring to Miami Central for his senior season. Barker spent his first two years at Beebe High School in Arkansas before transferring to The Woodlands School in Texas for his junior season.

A four-star prospect per 247Sports, Kiandrea Barker played limited snaps in 2023 after he was unable to receive a waiver following his transfer to Woodlands. He is currently the longest-standing commit in the Nittany Lions’ 2025 recruiting class, pledging to Penn State football in April of last year.

With his transfer, Barker will join forces with a fellow Penn State football commit, QB Bekkem Kritza. Last week, Kritza announced that he was returning to Miami Central, where he played in 2022 before transferring to Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado, last season.

The duo now join one of the perennial powers of Florida high school football in the nine-time state champion Rockets program. Bekkem Kritza and Kiandrea Barker will see their first action together on August 23.

Nittany Lions surging in 2025 recruiting cycle

Penn State football has seen the stock of its 2025 recruiting class rise over the last two months, nearly doubling in size since the start of January. James Franklin and the Nittany Lions are now firmly in the top 10 of 247Sports’ composite team rankings, up to No. 6 nationally.

Kiandrea Barker is currently the third-highest-ranked commitment in the class for Penn State per 247Sports composite, behind linebackers DJ McClary and Alex Tatsch. The most recent addition to the Nittany Lions class was top New York WR Lyrick Samuel, who committed on February 19.

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