Prospective 5-star recruit returns to Happy Valley for Lasch Bash

Sunday marked one of the highlights of the Penn State football recruiting calendar: the annual Lasch Bash cookout. The barbecue brought top prospects from across the region to Happy Valley, but perhaps none more important than Coatesville (PA) offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller.

The weekend trip marks Hiller’s third visit to State College in the last two months. Following visits to South Carolina and Clemson earlier in June, the third-ranked player in the Keystone State is expected to narrow his list of prospective schools in the coming weeks.

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However, some in the Nittany Lions’ top-ranked 2027 class, like running back Kemon Spell, are pushing for Hiller to make a decision sooner rather than later.

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— Maxwell Hiller 4⭐️OL (@HillerMaxwell) June 22, 2025

Hiller is ranked as the No. 28 recruit in the 2027 cycle, according to On3. Already with three commitments ranked inside the top 32 nationally, Hiller could join a Penn State recruiting class that has the opportunity to produce a historic number of five-star prospects.

Landing Pennsylvania’s top-ranked offensive lineman in the near future could also have a psychological benefit for the Nittany Lions, especially after a rocky week on the recruiting trail. Since Wednesday, Penn State lost two of the commonwealth’s top 10 prospects in the 2026 cycle to Notre Dame. Two of the state’s top three offensive line recruits in the 2026 class have now picked South Bend over Happy Valley.

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