Penn State’s wild weekend includes 3 commitments, 2 defections
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It has been a wild weekend for Penn State recruiting.
After a commitment and a flip already came Sunday, 4-star Maryland defensive end Cortez Harris committed to Penn State in the evening. Harris, who plays at Riverdale Baptist in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, is rated as the No. 20 edge prospect in the class of 2025 and the fifth-best Maryland prospect, per the 247Sports composite.
Harris chose Penn State over offers from hometown Maryland and Tennessee, where he took official visits this summer. He’s the fifth-highest-rated prospect, 17th player overall and the first true defensive lineman to commit to Penn State’s 2025 class, which now ranks 11th in the country.
Standing 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, Harris was on his official visit to Penn State this weekend, his third trip to campus overall. Harris became the third Nittany Lion pledge of the weekend from the visit group, joining running back Jabree Wallace-Coleman and defensive back/wide receiver Braswell Thomas. He also became the fifth commitment of the week as cornerback Jahmir Joseph and safety Antonio Branch Jr. pledged Monday and Wednesday, respectively.
The flurry of commitments came in light of a pair of major losses for Penn State, too. Alvin Henderson, a 4-star running back and formerly Penn State’s second-best prospect in the class, flipped to Auburn on Friday, and Penn State’s highest-rated linebacker, 4-star DJ McClary, flipped to Rutgers earlier Sunday.
Imhotep Charter’s Wallace-Coleman is ranked as the nation’s 12th-best running back and fourth-best Pennsylvania prospect, per the 247Sports composite. In July, Wallace-Coleman committed to play at Georgia. He later decommitted from the Bulldogs in December.
McClary, from Henry Snyder High School in New Jersey, was the highest-rated linebacker in the Nittany Lions class and now leaves Penn State with just two players committed at the position, 4-stars Alex Tatsch and Dayshaun Burnett.
McClary committed to Penn State last September, one day after a 31-0 Whiteout win over Iowa. He then officially visited Happy Valley last weekend along with a large group of already-committed prospects, his eighth total visit to Penn State. McClary made three visits to Rutgers, including an official trip May 31.
The 6-foot, 205-pound Wallace-Coleman was the Pa. Football Writers’ Class 5A Player of the Year and a first-team all-state selection following his junior year. He rushed for 1,585 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2023 on a 7.6 yard-per-carry average.
Penn State once again added its third running back in the 2025 group as Wallace-Coleman joined Aliquippa’s Tiqwai Hayes and Beebe’s (Ar.) Kiandrea Barker.
Wallace-Coleman was scheduled to officially visit Penn State at the beginning of June, but he canceled that visit with the crowded backfield group Penn State was putting together. Once Henderson decommitted, Wallace-Coleman wound up on campus and made quick work of a commitment to the Nittany Lions. It was his fourth trip to Penn State, and he went to North Carolina as his only other official visit.
Thomas is a 3-star recruit, per the 247Sports composite, and is listed as a safety and a wide receiver depending on where you look.
Thomas, if he stays at defensive back, is the third member of the position to commit to Penn State since Monday and the fourth overall.
At 6-2 and 185 pounds, Thomas is another big body added to Penn State. Cornerbacks coach Terry Smith and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter have done strong work in recent years, producing four NFL Draft picks in the past two years alone.
This weekend’s official visit was Thomas’ seventh trip to campus. He officially visited just one other school, West Virginia, and held offers from Rutgers, Georgia and Tennessee, among others.
The Nittany Lions’ 2025 class, featuring 17 players, ranks 11th in the country.
This was the final official visit weekend for Penn State as a college football recruiting dead period begins Monday. A big group of wide receivers, a legacy recruit and one of Wallace-Coleman’s highly ranked teammates headlined the group that made its way to Happy Valley.