Penn State recruiting: Nittany Lions make top-5 for four-star running back

On Monday night, the Penn State Nittany Lions were named in Kiandrea Barker’s final five schools that he will choose from when the time comes. This is great news for Penn State recruiting, which appears to be heating up for a few solid names in the 2025 class thus far.

My Top 5 schools!! @EarlGill10 @DOMXprospects @ArElite100 pic.twitter.com/MbMqSwJe2v

— Kiandrea Barker (@KiandreaBarker) March 7, 2023

Penn State recruiting: PSU makes top-5 for Kiandrea Barker

For those unfamiliar with Kiandrea Barker, he is a four-star running back in the 2025 recruiting cycle. Barker stems from The Woodlands High School in The Woodlands, TX, and could be the next great Nittany Lion to run the ball behind Penn State’s ever-improving offensive line unit.

According to 247 Sports, Barker is ranked as the No. 68 player in the nation, the No. 9 running back, and the No. 11 player in Texas for the 2025 cycle. Additionally, Barker runs track in high school and is a higly-ranked prospect on many schools’ big boards.

Who else made Barker’s top-5?

Along with the Penn State Nittany Lions in Barker’s top-5 are the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the Ole Miss Rebels, the Miami Hurricanes, and the Florida State Seminoles. As you can see, James Franklin’s Nittany Lions are Barker’s only remaining Big Ten school, which could bode well for Penn State’s chances. At the same time, PSU is Barker’s only remaining “cold weather” school, which made work against Penn State when the time comes seeing as Barker is a native of the south.

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