Local wide receiver Jett Harrison was named the top recruit in the 2028 Rivals rankings.
The next great wide receiver in college football hails from just up the road in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It is Jett Harrison, son of Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison and brother to former Ohio State Buckeye Marvin Harrison Jr. The word on the street is that Jett is the best of the bunch, and his brother even said that "he is much more talented than (Harrison Jr.) was at that age."
The mission is simple for the Nittany Lions: don't let him leave the state of Pennsylvania.
It's certainly a long shot, as it would seem that Ohio State has the inside track at the young star, but Matt Campbell and the Nittany Lions could make quite the move on the budding star; they have to do it right.
Penn State right now is not an attractive landing spot for young wide receivers. Shockingly enough, since the turn of the millennium, only two Nittany Lion wide receivers have been drafted in the first round.
The first one was in 2003 when Bryant Johnson was selected 17th by the Arizona Cardinals. The wait was long and strenuous as the next first-round selection didn't come until 2022, when Jahan Dotson was selected 16th overall by the Washington Commanders.
Penn State is not a hotbed for developing wide receiver talent, and more importantly, it hasn't been a hotbed for developing a top-tier winning program.
Penn State has, for a long time, been the younger brother of both Ohio State and Michigan. Whenever they would get close, things would go down the drain in dramatic fashion. Need proof? Just turn the calendar back one year.
In order for the Nittany Lions to have a puncher's chance at the hometown kid, they will have to flip the script immediately under Matt Campbell. Once they do that and they show that they can compete at the top of the conference and at the top of college football, they will be in contention for a player like Harrison.
It truly is a chicken-or-egg situation. The Nittany Lions needs the best players in order to compete, and win, on a consistent basis. In order to get the best players, the Nittany Lions have to win against the best competition on a consistent basis.
Flipping a program is one of the hardest things to do in sports. To do it, you need guys like Jett Harrision, and then once you do it, you get guys like Jett Harrision. We will see what tricks Matt Campbell has up his sleeve.
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