Penn State Nittany Lions' newly-hired head coach, Matt Campbell, landed his first commit in the 2026 recruiting class this week.
After the Penn State Nittany Lions decided to fire former head coach James Franklin during the middle of the 2025 college football season, the struggling program had to quickly find a replacement following the conclusion of the regular season.
Despite being one of the first schools to part ways with their head coach this year, Penn State missed out on plenty of head coach opportunities, but eventually poached former Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell to fill the void earlier this month.
One of the largest issues for Campbell once he arrived to State College was the 2026 recruiting class, as most of the program’s commits would leave after Franklin’s departure.
Now, however, Campbell is beginning to restructure the upcoming class with a key commitment this week on the defensive side of the ball.
On Saturday afternoon, Campbell landed his first commitment as the head coach of the Nittany Lions in 2026 three-star safety Bryson Williams.
The 6-foot-4, 175-pound defensive back prospect was originally committed to Iowa State, but ultimately decommitted from the program earlier this month following the news of Campbell. Williams is currently the No. 6 prospect in the state of Nebraska, as well as the No. 81-ranked safety in the 2026 recruiting class, according to 247Sports' Composite.
During his senior season at Omaha Westside High School, the well-rounded safety recorded 71 tackles, six tackles for loss, six interceptions, and four pass deflections in 12 games with the Warriors.
In addition to his success on the defensive side of the ball, Williams was also a key wide receiver, tallying 377 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 21 receptions.
Looking ahead at the current 2026 recruiting class for Penn State, Williams now becomes the third prospect in the class. Before the hiring of Campbell, the Nittany Lions were only able to secure two signees in the class: four-star EDGE Jackson Ford and four-star quarterback Payton Falzone.
Ford, a Pennsylvania native, committed to the program under Franklin, but held strong in his recruitment process to Penn State.
As for Falzone, former interim head coach Terry Smith played a key role in flipping the talented quarterback from the Auburn Tigers to State College.