BREAKING: Top Penn State football LB commit flips to Big Ten rival Rutgers

Penn State football has now lost a second commitment in the 2025 recruiting cycle this weekend. Sunday afternoon, four-star New Jersey linebacker DJ McClary announced that he was staying home, flipping his commitment from the Nittany Lions to in-state Rutgers.

The writing was on the wall for a potential flip from McClary for several weeks. The Henry Snyder product visited Rutgers in May, eight months after joining the Nittany Lions’ 2025 recruiting class in September.

Of course, that commitment was made under then-defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, who is now at Duke. McClary took his official visit to Penn State last weekend, but then decided to stay home.

JERSEY IM STAYING HOME #committed🪓#chop pic.twitter.com/dkAWbDEWr9

— DJ McClary (@tnlDJ_) June 23, 2024

DJ McClary is the second Penn State football commit to flip in a little over 72 hours. On Friday afternoon, four star Alabama running back Alvin Henderson decided to reverse course on his commitment, choosing instead to join the Auburn Tigers.

What is Penn State football losing in DJ McClary?

Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports

With the departure of DJ McClary, there is a reshuffling of the deck in Penn State’s 2025 recruiting class rankings.

McClary had been the Nittany Lions’ highest-rated linebacker prospect in the 2025 recruiting class and the program’s third-ranked commit overall, trailing only recent defensive back commits Daryus Dixson and Jahmir Joseph. A four-star, McClary is the No. 4 prospect in New Jersey and the No. 25 linebacker in the 247Sports Composite.

Now, the rankings are mixed depending on where you look. 247Sports has Imani Christian’s Dayshaun Burnett quickly backfilling as both the highest ranked linebacker and No. 3 overall commitment. On3, on the other hand, gives the title to Greater Latrobe’s Alex Tatsch.

With the loss of McClary, Penn State has dropped two spots to No. 15 in On3’s 2025 recruiting rankings. The Nittany Lions dropped one place in 247Sports’ national rankings, now down to No. 11

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