Penn State football, Matt Campbell recruiting rankings for signing day

Penn State football owned one of the nation’s smallest — and lowest-ranked — recruiting classes in the nation in December.

Only two high school seniors locked in with the Nittany Lions during the early signing period — a few days before new head coach Matt Campbell was hired.

But this 2026 class has grown exponentially since, led by a group of recruits who followed Campbell from Iowa State, and the recruiting rankings prove the value: The Lions’ class has surged back among the nation’s top 70 heading into the traditional or “late” National Signing Day.

The four remaining members of their 15-person class expect to make their verbal commitments binding on NSD, Wednesday Feb. 4. (The others enrolled early in Penn State in January).

The Lions’ class features two quarterbacks, two highly-regarded edge rushers and a running back from State College High.

At least a few should carve out meaningful roles for Penn State’s during the 2026 season.

Penn State football recruiting rankings

The Lions’ 2026 recruiting class is ranked 64th nationally by both 247Sports and Rivals and 63rd by ESPN. The class is still near the bottom of the Big Ten, above only Wisconsin and Nebraska. (The class was ranked as low as 125th nationally by 247Sports in early December).

Penn State typically produced top-15 recruiting rankings under former head coach James Franklin, who was fired in October. His classes in 2018 and 2022 were ranked No. 6 nationally, according to 247Sports.

Franklin’s lowest-rated class was his first (24th), which he finished compiling after taking the job in January of 2014.

Penn State football 2026 recruiting class

The Lions’ 2026 class contains 15 members, 11 which are currently enrolled in the university.

The highest-rated members are four-star edge rushers Jackson Ford (6-foot-4, 240 pounds) of Malvern, Pa., and Elijah Reeder (6-4, 210) of Bayville, New Jersey.

The early enrollees include Ford, quarterbacks Peyton Falzone (Nazareth, Pa.) and Kase Evans (Lexington, Texas), wide receivers Amarion Jackson (Omaha, Nebraska), Josiah Zayas (Piscataway, New Jersey) and Ben Whitver (Powhatan, Virginia), safeties Tyrell Chatman (Lincoln, Nebraska), Bryson Williams (Omaha, Nebraska) and Christian Askew (Christian, Georgia), offensive lineman Mason Bandhauer (Ford Collins, Colorado) and running back D’Antae Sheffey (State College, Pa.).

Those expecting to sign on Wednesday: Reeder, linebacker Keian Kaiser (Sidney, Nebraska), offensive lineman Pete Eglitis (Columbus, Ohio) and punter Lucas Tenbrock (St. Charles, Illinois).

When was the early national signing day?

Penn State signed just two players, Ford and Falzone, during the early national signing day on Dec. 3, 2025.

When is the late national signing day?

The traditional or “late” national signing day is Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. It marks the ending of the 2026 recruiting cycle.

Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at  fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State football recruiting rankings before national signing day