Penn State hosts its first weekend of official visits as construction continues at Beaver Stadium.
A rendering of the proposed renovation of Penn State's Beaver Stadium, which is scheduled for completion in 2027. | Courtesy Penn State Athletics This week in Penn State news, Matt Campbell took a tour of the Beaver Stadium renovation before hosting his first group of weekend official visitors.
If everything continues to schedule, those members of the 2027 recruiting will be the first to play in the "revitalized," as Penn State says, stadium in their freshman seasons. But Penn State has to close the deals first, which is what the first weekend of June is all about. With that in mind, let's catch up on all the Penn State sports news during the most active recruiting period of the year.
Penn State is on commitment watch this weekend, as more than 20 prospects from the 2027 recruiting class are on campus for the first official-visit weekend of the June period. Penn State did not host visitors for the last weekend of May and will concentrate its recruiting plan into three weeks of camps and visits before the summer dead period begins June 22.
The Nittany Lions primarily are hosting players already committed to their 2027 class, including 3-star Minnesota linebacker Blake Betton, who shared some photos on social media of his time in Beaver Stadium. , notably a pair of 4-star receivers in Pennsylvania's Khalil Taylor and Alabama's Deshawn Hall. Neither is likely to commit this weekend, but Penn State could get an announcement from Oklahoma linebacker Case Alexander, whose brother Cooper plays tight end for the Nittany Lions. , beyond money?
He's selling the program's developmental model, which Campbell used to become the winningest football coach in Iowa State history. Penn State has been pretty quiet lately about the Beaver Stadium renovation progess. Of course, the construction scale is visible for those in State College. But otherwise, we don't know much about what's going ininside Beaver Stadium's new West Tower, which is scheduled to be completed before the 2027 season.
Campbell took a site tour with project management to learn that construction on the tower structure will be completed before this season. Though the interiors won't be finished , that appears to suggest the construction timeline is progressing to plan. Penn State also is installing bleacher seats atop the West Tower structure, which will be higher than thethat was felled in early 2025.
Also of note: Fans who sit on the stadium's East side will enjoy wider concourses this season. Penn State Nittany Lions basketball coach Mike Rhoades calls out a play to his team during the game against Rutgers. | Taj Falconer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images In Year 4 as the Penn State men's basketball coach, Mike Rhoades is dramatically remaking his roster again.
He did so last year with eight freshmen, an experiment that led to a 12-20 record and last-place finish in the Big Ten.into Penn State's new roster, which returns just three players. Rhoades did find some compelling talent, notably former Miami shooter Brant Byers and Central Connecticut State point guard Jay Rodgers. Rhoades also shopped in the overseas market, though there could be issues with that.
The NCAA is looking to curb eligibility for players who competed in international professional leagues. Such a decisionThe Penn State Nittany Lions mascot entertains the crowd during the Blue-White Spring game at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn ImagesMark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network.
He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.
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