Penn State takes lead over Ohio State, Alabama for No. 1 player in Maryland

STATE COLLEGE, PA — On Friday, one of the best players in the country narrowed his list of schools down to 11; among his top 11 are a few Big Ten programs, like Penn State, Maryland, and Ohio State, and others. Faheem Delane, the No. 1 player in Maryland for the 2025 recruiting class, is currently favored to choose Penn State football over some of the nation’s best programs, such as Alabama and Ohio State.

Penn State football in the lead for No. 1 player in Maryland (2025)

According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, Faheem Delane is currently projected to end up committing to Penn State football — he is rated as a four-star recruit and is ranked as the No. 46 player in the country, the No. 4 safety, and the No. 1 player in Maryland for the 2025 recruiting cycle. Additionally, Delane has an extensive offer list, though he trimmed that list down to 11 schools on Friday.

Here are the programs still in the running for Delane’s commitment:

• Penn State
• Ohio State
• Maryland
• Alabama
• Florida
• Florida State
• Virginia Tech
• Oregon
• LSU
• USC
• South Carolina

Of these schools, On3 lists his top three as: Penn State football (41.7% chance), Virginia Tech (18.7% chance), and Ohio State (16.0% chance). Delane stems from Only, MD, and is a prospect out of Good Counsel High School — an east cost development powerhouse. Thus far, Faheem Delane has visited with many programs, though the Nittany Lions currently lead the pack with four visits — the next-closest school is Ohio State (2).

What does Faheem Delane say about PSU?

Faheem Delane discussed each of his top 11 schools (very quickly) with On3 — here is what stands out about Penn State football the most to him: “Penn State produces DB’s to the league yearly,” he said. Delane’s last visit to State College was last October during Penn State’s narrow loss to Ohio State, meaning there is a good chance that James Franklin and his staff look to get Delane back in town as soon as they can over the spring and summer.

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