Penn State is battling hard for one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2027 recruiting class.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are trying to replace their two elite quarterback departures by landing one of the best ones in the 2027 recruiting class.
Quarterback Will Mencl from Chandler, Arizona, is widely regarded as one of the top quarterback recruits in next year's class. He stands at a strong 6-foot-3 and is officially ranked as the No. 8 quarterback, according to 247Sports.
Penn State is just one on a very long list of schools that want Mencl's services. He is coveted by the best of the best in the country, and as it stands right now, he is leaning towards committing to either Oregon or Auburn for next year.
However, Penn State still has a chance at the quarterback.
In a conversation with Rivals, Mencl noted that he wants to be committed by the time he is done with all of his spring visits, which will be happening over the next couple of weeks. He gave a date of the middle of April to have his decision made and turn his recruitment off.
Mencl is fresh off his best year in high school, setting up what should be a memorable senior campaign at Chandler High School.
During the 2025 season, Mencl completed 258 of 367 passes, a 70.3 percent completion rate, for 3,815 yards, 33 touchdowns, and just five interceptions.
The entire roster is all for naught if you don't have the quarterback. That's the case at any level of football from peewee up to the NFL. The quarterback is the most important position in all of sports, and the Nittany Lions have been on a quest for theirs for the past couple of years.
Penn State was convinced that the program were staring at seven or eight straight years of quarterbacks with Drew Allar handing the baton to Ethan Grunkemeyer to carry on after him.
Well, Allar's career ended in total disaster, and Grunkemeyer hit the transfer portal to go play for James Franklin at Virginia Tech.
That left Matt Campbell with an empty quarterback room, so he brought his guy, Rocco Becht, with him to be the bridge.
If Campbell and the Nittany Lions can land Mencl, then they will have totally righted the ship for the future of this program.
If they get stuck in quarterback purgatory, Campbell will be next in the long line of coaches who simply couldn't do enough to turn the Penn State program around.
Mencl will be in Happy Valley in the next couple of weeks with a decision to make.