Examining the Role NIL Has Played in Penn State's 2027 Recruiting Class

Penn State’s 2027 recruiting class has seen significant change in recent weeks after missing out on multiple targets. Since June, four players decommitted from Matt Campbell’s recruiting class, which also missed on a pair of priority wide receiver targets.

The Nittany Lions, who had the No. 1 recruiting class in the Big Ten in May, now sit at 21st nationally and eighth in the conference, according to Rivals.

So, what should fans make of the uneven recruiting trend of late? Recruiting analyst Ryan Snyder of Blue-White Illustrated explained the decommitments, the role NIL played in them and what’s next for the 2027 class in an interview.

Why the recruiting misses happened

WATCH: 4-star WR Khalil Taylor launches the Penn State hat before choosing Nebraska👀

"Me and Trae Taylor will have something going for sure." https://t.co/gxwR9b471s pic.twitter.com/sl9IdgCThK
— Rivals (@Rivals) July 6, 2026

Some of the misses that Penn State sustained on the recruiting trail are tied to NIL, Snyder said. He said that 4-star wide receiver Khalil Taylor and 4-star cornerback Gabe Jenkins got paid “a lot of money” to commit to Nebraska and Colorado, respectively.

Though both players are from the Pittsburgh area (and Taylor had previously committed to the Nittany Lions), Penn State was reluctant to match their offers — especially with Jenkins, according to Snyder. The Nittany Lions also lost 4-star wide receiver commit Jamir Dean to Georgia and watched 4-star wide receiver Deshawn Hall, a highly valued target, commit to Auburn. Dean is from Tennessee, and Hall is from Alabama.

“Georgia has a great reputation for receivers, and obviously they're a great program, and Auburn is willing to spend money to just spend money,” Snyder said. “Those are good examples of great scouting, great recruiting. [Penn State] did everything right, but at the end of the day, if you don't have the money and you have prestigious programs that are closer to those guys, it's not easy to hold on to them.”

Snyder said that the farther recruits live from State College, the easier it is for other schools to flip them. While other programs face similar issues when recruiting long-distance, Snyder said that Penn State's misses were lessons learned for Campbell and his staff on how difficult it is to pull recruits from the South.

The Nittany Lions also recently lost 4-star South Carolina running back Aiden Gibson, who flipped to Rutgers and reclassified to the 2026 class.

“Rutgers jumped on the fact that he wanted to not play at his high school, and Rutgers has done a very good job at getting guys to reclassify and getting them through their system quickly,” Snyder said. “That's been like the seventh or eighth guy they've done that with over the last handful of years.”

Snyder believes Penn State would’ve been open to letting Gibson reclassify to its 2026 class, but it didn’t make sense to do so at the price Rutgers is paying him. Other flips the Nittany Lions saw were 3-star cornerback Zachary Gleason Jr. to West Virginia and 3-star cornerback Semajay Robinson to Virginia.

Should fans worry about those misses?

Penn State Nittany Lions coach Matt Campbell answers questions from the media following practice at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

From an NIL standpoint, Snyder said he thinks that Penn State is around a top-20 team nationally but not yet at the elite level where fans would like. In other words, it’s up to interpretation whether fans should be worried or not, as he believes the Nittany Lions are on pace to finish with a class in or near the top 20.

“It depends on what your expectations are and how realistic they are,” Snyder said. “Maybe most importantly, they came into a situation where Penn State went a long period of time for a coaching search, and it hurt as far as regionally. And so then you bring in this staff that doesn't have those regional ties, and it's going to be very hard to make up the difference in that quick of a time.”

Campbell has said that he and his staff prioritize NIL but won't make it their main pitch in recruiting.

"Now, I think sometimes in college football we can get lost on the financial piece of it," Campbell said. "Do I think it's important? Absolutely. But I think the reality is that cannot be priority No. 1."

Snyder referred to Penn State as being in the “middle” when it comes to NIL. He said that teams with smaller budgets could be willing to spend more on a specific recruit, while teams with bigger budgets can outspend Penn State. The misses on the recruiting trail have been noteworthy, but Snyder credited Penn State’s staff for having a good eye for talent.

Snyder has also seen “positive movement” regarding the Nittany Lions’ relationships in the region. If the team learns from its experiences in the 2027 class, Snyder said that Penn State’s recruiting will be fine in future classes, and the misses in the current cycle would be chalked up to being in a difficult position due to the coaching change.

What’s next for Penn State's 2027 class?

Penn State Nittany Lions football coach Matt Campbell waves to the crowd during a Big Ten wrestling match against Nebraska. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Snyder said recruiting in the 2027 class is 80-90 percent done across the nation. Penn State has 22 commits in its 2027 class, its lateast from Swedish offensive lineman Oscar Webersink. Snyder noted that 25-player classes are growing rarer due to the transfer portal.

But the Nittany Lions could still be in the mix for another wide receiver commitment, as 4-star Iowa prospect Landon Blum is the lone commit at the position. Snyder thinks it’s too early to tell who Penn State might target.

“When you're in the situation now that they're in, there's no reason to really rush out offers and try to flip guys at this point because really all you're doing is competing against yourself in some ways,” Snyder said. “If you're going to be aggressive now and put numbers out there — which, let's be real, money is a major factor — I don't know if you want to show your hand.”

Because of that, any recruiting splashes Penn State could make might have to wait until the season starts and Big Ten play gets underway.

“I don't see a whole lot of ‘27 movement happening until we get midway into September and into October,” Snyder said. “That sets them up then to potentially, for [the] USC game, to bring some official visitors on and try to get some movement then.”

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