Penn State delivered major recruiting news from five-star defender midway through flip efforts by James Franklin
The Penn State Nittany Lions are struggling to build out their 2026 recruiting class. Now free-falling closer to ranking in the twenties than the top 10, James Franklin and his staff were hoping to swing five-star cornerback Brandon Arrington from Texas A&M to Happy Valley. Penn State was working toward getting him on campus this […]
The Penn State Nittany Lions are struggling to build out their 2026 recruiting class. Now free-falling closer to ranking in the twenties than the top 10, James Franklin and his staff were hoping to swing five-star cornerback Brandon Arrington from Texas A&M to Happy Valley. Penn State was working toward getting him on campus this fall.
A verbal commitment be damned, Penn State did its best. But Arrington delivered a blow to Franklin and the Nittany Lions this week. He shut down his recruitment completely, vowing to become an Aggie and turning away Oregon and Penn State in the chase.
Penn State Recruiting Misses on Brandon Arrington
The Nittany Lions have 24 commits next year already, but zero are five-stars. They’re also not trending toward landing a single elite foundational player. While Franklin has some blue chippers coming, missing on all of their five-star swings is a costly miss.
Arrington was one of their last hopes. The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder opened up to On3 about his decision to stick with Texas A&M over keeping the door cracked for Penn State.
“Oregon and Penn State have been the main two schools on me,” Arrington said.
“I always thought of it before I made my commitment, to made sure wherever I was going to go that’s what was going to be home for me. I wasn’t just going to pick a school just to pick a school. I’ve always felt like if you’re committed somewhere, you stay committed. That’s where you dedicate yourself. They (Texas A&M) have a plan for me that no other school had a plan for me. So I’m sticking to the plan that they got for me. And I’m going to accomplish everything that I need to do when I go to college.”
Now, Penn State will turn its attention elsewhere and hope to land a desperation flip.
Greg Biggins of 247Sports broke down Arrington’s game in his scouting report:
Dynamic two-sport athlete who doubles as one of the nation’s top sprinters. In fact, some have called him a potential Olympic hopeful in 2028 and he’s already broken a pair of age group records set previously by Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles. On the grid-iron, Arrington has made major strides at receiver and corner and is hoping to play on both sides of the ball at the next level. Dynamic with the football in his hands and a threat to score from anywhere on the field. Is much more natural catching the rock and shows some make-you-miss ability after the catch. Corner could be his ultimate meal ticket and where he previously said is his desired position. Has the length to smother opposing receivers at the line, showed more physicality tackling in space last season and has the long speed to turn and run with anyone. Still far from a finished product and has some cleaning up to do from a technical standpoint but the upside is off the charts. Somewhat of a late bloomer who has never had a full off-season so the growth potential is huge. Has high round NFL Draft potential if he hits his ceiling and is one of the best athletes to come out of the talent laden San Diego region in years.
