Three Penn State football commits now pushing for five-star status

Penn State football jumped out to an early start in the 2027 recruiting cycle. Currently, the Nittany Lions are just one of nine programs in the country with multiple commitments in the class. Although there are still 19 months between now and National Signing Day 2027, James Franklin and his staff appear to be on a historic pace.

With the release of On3’s updated 2027 recruiting rankings on Tuesday, Penn State now has all three of its commitments in the cycle ranked within the top 32 prospects nationally. The updated rankings also put all three Nittany Lion pledges on track to become five-star prospects by the end of the cycle.

The biggest jump among Penn State’s three early commitments came from Appoquinimink (DE) offensive lineman Layton von Brandt, who moved up five spots from No. 37 to No. 32. The Nittany Lions’ pair of western Pennsylvania pledges, McKeesport running back Kemon Spell and Seton LaSalle wide receiver Khalil Taylor, rank No. 8 and No. 18, respectively.

Spell, Taylor, and von Brandt rank among the top five committed prospects in the 2027 recruiting cycle.

Top commits in the updated 2027 On300⭐️

Read: https://t.co/bqTxa49okG pic.twitter.com/VXU3vk9d3C

— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) May 20, 2025

Adding to the plethora of riches, Coatesville (PA) offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller, a Nittany Lion lean, is also within the top 32, coming in at No. 28.

While there will be plenty of twists over the next year and a half, the Nittany Lions have a reasonable chance of signing four five-star recruits in its 2027 class. The most five-stars Penn State football has added in one recruiting cycle during the James Franklin era is three, when Drew Allar, Nicholas Singleton, and Dani Dennis-Sutton joined the program in the class of 2022.

On3 has not yet produced team rankings for 2027. Penn State football ranks No. 2 nationally in the cycle per 247Sports.

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