Firing James Franklin turns out to be the biggest mistake in Penn State’s history. The Nittany Lions, who once ranked 13th in the recruitment drive with 28 commits, now face a severe recruiting crunch without Franklin. With the early signing day approaching in less than 24 hours, insider reports suggest the biggest downfall in Penn State’s recruiting history.

“Penn State is slated to sign ZERO recruits tomorrow on early National Signing Day,” quoted Ian Purdy of Nittany Central’s report on X. “Unless Penn State signs someone in the late signing period, they could become the first P4 class EVER to have no one sign. The closest thing I could find was SMU & UW with 10. Crazy times.”

Ever since James Franklin left the Nittany Lions for Virginia Tech, 23 of 28 Penn State commits from the 2026 class announced their decommitment. Without a permanent coach in place, their recruitment ranking dropped to 124th, with only five athletes remaining with the program. The alarm bells have been ringing.

Of all five, all are actively seeking offers from other schools.

In conclusion, James Franklin’s firing from PSU and early hiring at Virginia Tech are among the main reasons for the unprecedented recruiting downfall. Some of the top prospects who gave a verbal commitment to PSU ended up flipping to Virginia Tech, including Messiah Mickens, Troy Huhn, Pierce Petersohn, and other commits of the 2026 class. 

Another reason is the vacant head coaching role, which PSU officials are still trying to fill, as they compete with other major programs. If this is the case, Penn State will be the first Power 4 school without a single signing in the three-day recruitment window from December 3 to December 6.

A similar situation occurred when Lincoln Riley left the Oklahoma Sooners, resulting in multiple decommitments.

It’s a similar situation to Franklin, as these coaches had the pulling power. The Sooners lost Malachi Nelson, a five-star quarterback recruit at that time, and even Derrick Moore, an ESPN 300 defensive end.

All the turnover hurt the Nittany Lions, but there are still five commits pledged to the Nittany Lions.

Penn State’s hard commits in the 2026 Class

The Nittany Lions still have Matt Sieg, a 4-star safety from Fort Cherry High School in the Pittsburgh area. He’s an early commit to the program, who announced his commitment in November 2024. Being an in-state prospect, he ensured his commitment to Penn State looks solid, even after James Franklin’s firing.

Jackson Ford, on the other hand, is a 4-star Edge from Malvern Prep, Pennsylvania, and hasn’t changed his mind yet, who’s likely to sign with Penn State on December 3. However, considering Ford at Virginia Tech over the past weekend remains suspicious.

Besides Ford, Terry Wiggins, an in-state linebacker from Coatesville, is committed to Penn State; however, he is also interested in schools such as Colorado, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia. 

On the other hand, Tyson Harley, a four-star linebacker from Washington, D.C., is considering Wisconsin and Virginia Tech. Reports indicate that he may even sign in the late signing window in February. The last person holding a commitment with Penn State is the 3-star CB from St. Frances, Baltimore, Amauri Polydor, who is likely looking forward to hearing from Virginia Tech and Colorado.

 If none of them remain, Penn State’s downfall could make history by becoming one of the worst in college football.