Penn State loses key in-state Class of 2026 commitment

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The longer Penn State’s search for a new head coach to replace James Franklin continues, the more challenging the job of keeping the recruiting class together for the Class of 2026 is becoming. This is to be expected of course, but another commitment from Penn State’s current recruiting efforts has backed off his commitment to the Nittany Lions.

Offensive lineman Kevon Brown, a four-star recruit from Harrisburg, has officially backed off his commitment to Penn State. It is reported that two schools pursuing Brown the hardest right now appear to be Ohio State and West Virginia. This woudl obviously be a big blow to Penn State’s Class of 2026, which has been cut down to 13 current commitments at the moment.

Brown was previously named to the All-USA Football Watchlist by USA TODAY for this season, giving Penn State two commitments on the team at the time. The other was running back Kemon Spell. Spell has also backed away from his commitment to Penn State while the school goes through a coaching search to replace the coach who recruited him originally, James Franklin.

Penn State is coming off its first win under interim head coach Terry Smith, who was a longtime assistant under Franklin and was a key part of the recruiting efforts with the program. It is unlikely Smith will end up being retained as head coach, but his future with the program has many supporting his inclusion in the plans for the staff moving forward.

The question is whether the damage to the program’s current recruiting class has been done or if there will still be time to regain the trust of any players who have backed off their respective commitments. Brown, being a major in-state recruit would likely be among the top priority recruits to try reeling back in for whoever the next head coach is, supposing Brown has not committed (or signed) elsewhere before that opportunity presents itself.

This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State Class of 2026 loses major commitment

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