BREAKING: Penn State football flips former target from ACC foe

For the third time in a little over two months, Penn State football has plucked a top prospect from another program’s recruiting class. This time, the victim was Louisville, as James Franklin and the Nittany Lions earned a commitment from 2025 three-star Ironton (Ohio) cornerback Josh Johnson on Monday.

Johnson was a target for Penn State this summer, and was anticipated by some analysts to pledge to the Nittany Lions following his June official visit until a last-minute reversal landed him at Louisville.

However, James Franklin and the Nittany Lions staff continued to pursue Johnson following his commitment to the Cardinals, hosting him for Penn State’s 27-11 win over UCLA on October 5. Four days later, Johnson announced he was decommitting from Louisville.

Gods plan🙏🏽❤️@FootballIronton pic.twitter.com/XaSBUnufFh

— Joshua Johnson (@Josh_Makai9) October 9, 2024

Now a week later, Johnson made the flip complete, committing to Penn State football.

WE ARE….. 🦁#commited @FootballIronton pic.twitter.com/Kqda8jBDzB

— Joshua Johnson (@Josh_Makai9) October 14, 2024

Josh Johnson is the No. 41 cornerback and the No. 17 player out of Ohio per On3’s 2025 recruiting cycle rankings.

Johnson was one of four potential flip targets who traveled to Happy Valley to watch Penn State football take on the Bruins, along with Oregon commit Brandon Finney, South Carolina commit Lex Cyrus, and Duke commit Bradley Gompers.

Penn State football finding success with flipping commitments in the 2025 recruiting cycle

© Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Josh Johnson is the latest in a string of commitments from the 2025 recruiting class that James Franklin has been able to successfully lure away from other programs in recent weeks.

In early August, the Nittany Lions flipped in-state linebacker Cam Smith from former Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and Duke.

Four weeks later, Franklin pulled Virginia wide receiver Matthew Outten away from another former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator – Brent Prey and Virginia Tech.

“If it came down to us at another school, and we reach out, or the kid tells us, ‘Hey, I want you to keep recruiting me,’ then we’ll keep recruiting him,” James Franklin said of the Nittany Lions’ strategy for recruiting committed players recently. “So I think your point is a good one, is we only have so many resources, and you got to make sure that the time you’re spending is time well spent.

“And so to me, it’s were we legitimately in it? Is the kid receptive? Is the kid open? And do you feel like, you know, you got a legitimate chance to get him before signing day? We’re not a negative recruiting team. We’re not a team that’s going to go after other people’s recruits just to go after other people’s recruits. It’s about a guy we’ve had a ton of time invested in and they still want to be recruited and we feel like we got a shot.”

Prior to the commitment, Penn State football had the No. 16 class in the 2025 recruiting cycle, according to On3.

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