Summer Recruiting Roundup: Pantsed

Summer Recruiting Roundup: Pantsed

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Summer Recruiting Roundup: Pantsed
PISCATAWAY, NEW JERSEY – NOVEMBER 29: Head coach Terry Smith of the Penn State Nittany Lions looks on against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Piscataway, New Jersey. The Penn State Nittany Lions defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 40-36. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Four-Star QB Calls for Penn State

Let’s start with the good news. In one of Matt Campbell’s biggest gets yet, four-star QB James Armstrong committed to Penn State on Thursday. The Aliquippa, Pa., native is considered a four-star in 247Sports’ composite rankings and is a top-10 quarterback in the Class of 2028.

Armstrong made the call for the Nittany Lions over in-state rivals Pitt as well as Auburn, Georgia, and Florida State. This is a great righting of the ship for Campbell, who has seen an absurd amount of churn since accepting the job. While 2026 and maybe even 2027 are about Penn State keeping its head above water, 2028 is the first class the head coach will be able to shape from the start. The early results are good as the Nittany Lions’ 2028 class currently sits at No. 4 in the country.

Pat had the full write-up on Armstrong, but the gist of it is that he’s an uber-athletic lefty. A true dual threat!

Khalil Taylor…Husker

Well, we saw this one coming. Four-star wideout Khalil Taylor made it official Monday that he’s heading out to the Midwest to play for Matt Rhule and Nebraska. To add insult to injury, he did a classic fake-out by “choosing” Penn State before tossing the hat away. Rude!

The in-state wideout received a full-court press (and maybe some extra NIL pledges) from Nebraska in early June, and from there the writing was on the wall. Penn State’s wideout dry spell will not end with Taylor.

RB Flips to Rutgers

Well, Campbell just got hit with the reverse Saquon. Four-star South Caroline running back Aiden Gibson announced this week that he’s reclassifying to join the 2026 class and attend Rutgers in the fall.

This is another huge blow for Penn State’s 2027 class, which is now down to No. 20 in the nation. Campbell hasn’t been able to fully wrangle this class since taking over, and this is just another ill-timed blow. The counterargument here is that if Gibson wanted to reclassify, he would be buried in Penn State’s 2026 depth chart, where he might have an opportunity to play right away in Piscataway. But, still, not good!

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