Penn State's 2027 Recruiting Class Moves to No. 1 in Big Ten Rankings

With a commitment from New Jersey tight end Sean Currie, Penn State has the conference's top-ranked class.

Penn State Nittany Lions football head coach Matt Campbell waves to the crowd during a Big Ten wrestling match vs. Nebraska. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penn State on Friday took over the top spot in the Big Ten recruiting rankings. With commitments from New Jersey tight end Sean Currie and Utah defensive tackle Aniti Paiva, Penn State's 2027 recruiting class moved to the Big Ten's No. 1 spot, according to 247Sports. Penn State also has the largest group of commits in the conference with 20.

The Nittany Lions picked up their second 2027 commit Friday from Currie, a 3-star tight end.
Currie is a 6-7, 230-pound prospect from The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, where he is a dual-sport athlete in football and lacrosse. In fact, Currie is 4-star lacrosse prospect and top-30 player nationally, according to Inside Lacrosse, who initially committed to Virginia to play both sports.

However, Currie decommitted from Virginia in March amid a flurry of high-profile football offers. Penn State and Ohio State joined the list in January, followed by Texas A&M and Washington. Currie also has offers from Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech and Missouri, among others.

WE ARE! https://t.co/CR8EeSqRf6

— Sean Currie (@SeanCurrie) May 22, 2026

Penn State coach Matt Campbell loves tight ends. Campbell joked recently that he'd play five simultaneously if he could. Which is why Penn State has prioritized the position in its 2027 recruiting class.

Currie caught 34 passes for 474 yards and eight touchdowns last season. As a two-way player, he also made three sacks on defense. However, Currie projects as a promising tight end at Penn State, whose offense relies heavily on the position. Currie joins 4-star prospect Cooper Terwilliger of South Dakota in Penn State's two-tight end class (so far).

Currie told Blue-White Illustrated's Ryan Snyder that he developed a bond with Penn State offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Taylor Mouser, who uses tight ends in a variety of ways. Campbell expanded on the topic in a recent interview with On3, comparing Penn State's tight-end usage with NFL teams like the Los Angeles Rams, whose offense Mouser has studied in-depth.

“I think you see it in the NFL, the Rams, and so many teams like that are starting to live in that same kind of lifestyle there,” Campbell said. “When you have those athletic tight ends that can line up at receiver, but they can also block a D gap and an E gap, at times things become, you know, a real challenge for sometimes defenses to be able to defend the football.”

A busy day for Penn State recruiting

BREAKING: Salt Lake City (Utah) Skyline defensive tackle Aniti Paiva has committed to Penn State.https://t.co/ZjPv9FtxMX pic.twitter.com/vjVkq1xqPI

— Tyler Calvaruso (@tyler_calvaruso) May 22, 2026

The two Penn State commits announced their decisions Friday in the span of about 30 minutes. Currie followed 3-star Utah defensive tackle Aniti Paiva, who also fits Penn State's specific requirements at a certain position.

Their commitments continued Penn State's race to complete its 2026 recruiting class by this summer. Campbell had not received a single 2027 commitment when spring practice started in late March.

Less than two months later, Penn State's 20-player class ranks fifth nationally per 247Sports and atop the Big Ten. In under two months, Campbell and his staff also have built the nation's second-largest class; Oklahoma State leads with 21 commits.

Though he promised to move "slow and right" in terms of recruiting, Campbell has accelerated thie pace this spring. The Penn State coach also is building the class based on his traditional approach. The Nittany Lions' 2027 class consists of six 4-star prospects and 14 3-star players.

“The flash, the stars, that’s cool on Signing Day, but winning football games on Saturday is what we’re going to be about,” Campbell said. "... “I want young men that want to be here at Penn State and want to win championships at Penn State. It has to start there. Obviously with Pat, what he’s done here to give us a chance to be able to compete with everybody in college football, I’m really grateful for that.”

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