Penn State lost out on a major 2028 recruit to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The first step for Penn State in establishing long-term success under Matt Campbell is finding his quarterback.
This year will be a little bit of a buffer when he rolls out Rocco Becht to lead the Nittany Lions. Becht's potential maxes out around "good," and he will only be in Happy Valley for just one season.
After him is Matt Campbell's biggest problem to solve. On Thursday, those plans took a small step backward.
The Nittany Lions lost out on four-star quarterback Trey Tagliaferri from Bergen Catholic in New Jersey. Tagliaferri has a composite score of 90.02 and is currently ranked as the No. 13 quarterback in the country.
Now, as we know, commitments don't mean what they once did. He, in theory, could wake up tomorrow or in 1.5 years and change his mind, so the recruiting doesn't stop. However, Penn State does have to get serious about landing as many of these prospects as it possibly can.
In the 2027 class, they have just one quarterback, who is three-star William Wood. He will be competing with 2026 quarterback Kase Evans, who is also a three-star in this year's class.
Landing the quarterback is the first step in making this roster an absolute contender. In 2026, the Nittany Lions are going to have to pull an upset or two to catapult themselves into the first tier of college football programs.
They can't build their future based on luck or the ball bouncing the right way. It needs to be built on great recruiting in both the high school pool and in the transfer portal.
Now, it is the age-old discussion of which comes first. Does great recruiting turn a team and a program into a winner, or does winning turn a team and a coach into a great recruiter?
At the end of the day, they both end up feeding each other but you have to get there.
Matt Campbell does seem to be a natural recruiter. He was able to save the Penn State class when he arrived, and now all that is left to prove is his ability to coach on Saturdays.
If he can win some football games, then the floodgates will open, and the Nittany Lions won't have to worry about losing recruiting battles to Notre Dame or to anyone else.
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