The Nittany Lions lost four high-profile 2027 prospects over the weekend and even more 2026 commitments after Franklin's firing.
Penn State’s interim head coach Terry Smith put it pretty plainly and said what everyone’s thinking when it comes to Nittany Lion recruiting.Penn State had the nation’s No. 1 class early in the 2027 cycle with four commitments last week, including five-star running back and top Pa.
player Kemon Spell. All four of those prospects decommitted over the weekend. Penn State’s 2026 class, ranked 16th with 23 verbal pledges, has already lost commitments from wide receivers Lavar Keys and Davion Brown since Franklin’s firing. At least seven others have publicly reopened their recruitments for visits and contact with other schools despite remaining “committed” to Penn State. Athletic director Pat Kraft acknowledged none of those developments were surprising. But he said part of the reason he was comfortable firing Franklin now was because of Smith’s stability as a recruiter. “Terry’s an elite recruiter. Terry has relationships with those kids,” Kraft said. “I think what we will show is that we’re such a big and historical program that we are going to weather the storm. We have weathered far worse than this.” Smith estimated he recruited three-fourths of the current roster and most of the committed prospects in the 2026 class. He said Penn State will “continue to press forward” on the recruiting trail during his interim term ahead of the early signing period at the start of December. The staff will take their same “tedious” approach to recruiting. They’ll push to get prospects on campus to “remind them how beautiful of a place this is.” “One thing that hasn’t changed is Penn State is Penn State. We all know the expectation of being here. Pat made it clear: We’re going to be successful,” Smith said. “We have always been successful. It is the only way we know. So we’re going to recruit the young men that want to be here. And when we suit up, come 2026 with a new roster, they’re going to be equipped and ready to go.” Smith emphasized that Penn State will use a similar pitch to recruits moving forward that it used under Franklin. The former head coach often asked recruits to commit to him and the university because coordinator and position coaches can switch jobs or be fired abruptly. The only difference is Smith, a proud Nittany Lion letterman, must preach more on Penn State as a whole than “Our message is: Remember all the reasons you chose Penn State,” Smith said. “This is still a great university. It offers a first-class education. You know it’s going to be first-class football. We play in the Big Ten at the highest level. No matter who the next head coach is, Pat, Vinnie and the administration are going to bring an outstanding candidate here.” “There’s always going to be a great leader here at Penn State University,” he added. “Whoever the next head coach will be will uphold that standard, and they will be in good hands.” Penn State interim coach Terry Smith on Lions’ starting QB post-Drew Allar injury: ‘We’re very confident’If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
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