NEW: Penn State football now trending to land Florida DL over Miami, USC

James Franklin and Penn State football appear ready to keep the string of commitments coming. The Nittany Lions are now trending to add another member to their 2025 recruiting class: Miami Central (Florida) defensive lineman Randy Adirika.

Friday morning, the Nittany Lions received two crystal ball predictions to land Adirika from 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst Tom Loy, as well as InsideTheU Staff Writer Gaby Urrutia.

The nearby Hurricanes have been viewed as the frontrunner for Adirika’s commitment for several months. On3 still has three predictions logged for Miami, including one from Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons, dating to February and March.

As of Friday morning, the site’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives Miami a 97% chance of landing the 6-3, 280-pound defensive lineman. Both On3 and 247Sports have Penn State, Miami, and USC as Adirika’s top three schools.

Randy Adirika earned an offer from Penn State football in February 2023. He’s been to campus only twice, but both have been in the last two months. His first visit was for the Blue-White Game on April 13, followed by an official visit on the weekend of June 14.

A three star, Adirika is the No. 31 defensive lineman and the No. 57 prospect in Florida, according to On3’s 2025 recruiting rankings. As a junior, he recorded 27 tackles (16 TFLs), 11 sacks and a forced fumble. At Miami Central, Adirika is a high school teammate with 2025 Penn State quarterback commit Bekkem Kritza.

Penn State football defensive recruiting is hitting its stride

© Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

It’s been a barnburner month on the recruiting trail for James Franklin and Penn State football. But really, it’s the Nittany Lions’ defensive staff that has taken its recruiting to another level in June.

Penn State has landed eight commitments since June 10, seven of which have come on the defensive side of the ball.

Four of those seven new Nittany Lions will go to Terry Smith and Anthony Poindexter in the defensive backfield. The remaining three are all pass rushers, with Cortez Harris and Jayden Woods evaluated as defensive ends, while Max Granville is listed as a linebacker and an edge.

If Adirika commits, he would be the first interior defensive lineman of the 2025 recruiting cycle for Deion Barnes and Tom Allen.

Penn State football currently has the No. 11 class in the 2025 recruiting cycle per On3. 247Sports has James Franklin and the Nittany Lions pushing for the top five, ranked sixth nationally.

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