Penn State football secured blue-chip EDGE due to ‘scheme fit’ according to a national recruiting analyst

Over the past several days, the Penn State football team has been able to stack top talent in the 2025 recruiting class. Even on Tuesday, they were able to add the quarterback of the future to the 2026 cycle. But one of the more surprising additions to the barrage of newcomers was four-star edge rusher Max Granville who committed to the Nittany Lions on Monday. The VP of On3 recently spoke about how Penn State and its scheme were able to pull Granville out of his home state of Texas.

Up until a few days ago, it felt like the battle for 2025 recruiting class edge rusher, Max Granville was truly between Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Granville the Sugar Land (Texas) native, completed official visits to Penn State, Baylor, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma over the past several weeks. But all along it was the scheme that the Nittany Lions use that sold Granville on playing in Happy Valley. The VP of On3 Steve Wiltfong recently explained to Thomas Frank Carr of Blue White Illustrated why Granville ended up a Nittany Lion.

Wiltfong explained, “I think what absolutely separated it for Penn State from the other schools. When I first started talking to the Granville family in the spring, proximity to home was one of the elements on the table. But the number one factor, and the reason why Penn State wins out in the recruitment of Max Granville is straight scheme fit.

“They just called the scheme amazing. When I talked to Max about it in the spring, he said it’s the best scheme out of any of his top schools, to be honest. And on his visit to Penn State in the spring they were blown away by sitting down with the coaches, coach Barnes and coach Franklin. And they turn on the film and it’s Penn State’s defense, not just the number one draft picks not just Chop [Robinson] not just Adisa [Isaac] but all the guys making plays behind the line of scrimmage.”

On3 ranks Granville as a top-200 prospect nationally. He is a consensus four-star prospect and the No. 19 linebacker in the 2025 recruiting cycle according to On3’s Industry Rankings.

Quarterback of the future secured for Penn State

Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Nittany Lion fans no longer needed to stress about securing an elite quarterback prospect for the future after Tuesday morning. Troy Huhn of San Marcos (California) made his commitment official. On3 ranks Huhn as the No. 6 quarterback in the 2026 recruiting class and he is a top-100 prospect in the cycle (No. 60 overall).

Huhn will join Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) running back who also is a top-100 talent in the 2026 cycle, Messiah Mickens (No. 65 overall nationally) as the two hard commits in the cycle. Penn State is off to a strong start in the 2026 class.

The 2025 recruiting class currently ranks as the No. 13 class in the country according to On3.

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation! Please follow us on all of our social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube) and subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at basicbluesnation@gmail.com or direct message us on our social media.