Penn State football recruiting class of 2025: Top 3 recruits James Franklin brought this offseason

By Viraj Mali

Modified Jul 06, 2024 18:53 GMT

Penn State is having a strong recruiting season as their 2025 class currently ranks in the top 10, according to 247Sports. James Franklin and company have signed multiple top prospects so far and have many talented players still on their radar.

Franklin has managed to land 20 verbal commitments so far, five of them from Pittsburgh, and has also freshened up his coaching staff.

Let's look at Franklin and Penn State's top three commitments so far.

Penn State's top 3 recruits

#3 Max Granville

Penn State secured one of the best prospects in the nation last month when they signed the four-star recruit Max Granville, from Texas. The 6-foot-2 linebacker chose Penn State over Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Baylor.

Granville spoke to On3 about his experience with Penn State's visit in March:

"My favorite part was when I watched some cutups with Coach [Deion] Barnes. Just watching from last season alone, seeing how many TFLs and stuff they had, it showed me a lot about their defense and how they just let guys kinda play... He has his principles and just kinda lets his guys do what they do, which I like a lot."

Granville is ranked No. 169 in the nation, according to On3. He is the 18th-best linebacker in the country and the No. 28 overall prospect from Texas, as per On3 Industry Rankings.

#2 Jayden Woods

Penn State added another defenseman, Jayden Woods, to their roster this year. The four-star edge from Shawnee, Kansas, announced his commitment just days after Granville.

The 6-foot-3 had an official visit scheduled on June 7 and also visited the campus on March 12.

"The connection with Coach Barnes and Coach [Torrence] Brown was great the whole visit," Woods said, according to On3. "I could really see myself playing for them. Talking with Coach [James] Franklin was great too.

"He actually recruited my dad and was with him at K-State back in the day. ... I got the chance to talk to [Dani Dennis-Sutton] about hand placement on pass rush, too."

Woods is ranked as the 201st player nationally and is the 23rd-best prospect at the edge position, as per the On3 Industry Rankings. He is also the fifth-best prospect from his home state.

#1 Daryus Dixson

Four-star recruit Daryus Dixson from Mater Dei announced his commitment to Penn State last month. The 6-foot-1 cornerback from California had offers from other top schools such as Tennessee, USC and Washington.

"It is about family there," the four-star recruit told On3. "That was big, and the relationships are genuine, so that had an impact on my decision. Then it was about player development. That is big for me, too. I trust in the coaches and believe they can get me to where I want to be."

He also talked about the Nittany Lions' head coach, James Franklin:

"Me and Coach Franklin talked a lot throughout my visit over the weekend. He’s a good coach, and I like how active he is with his players. He’s a coach that was with me through my whole official visit and that showed me a lot. Coach Franklin was talking with me, my parents and he is just a genuine guy."

Dixson is the 141st-best prospect in the country and the 15th-best cornerback nationally, according to On3 Industry Rankings. He is also the 14th-best prospect from the state of California.