Gut Check: Can Penn State Recruiting Finish Higher than 15?
Gut Check: Can Penn State Recruiting Finish Higher than 15?  
Podcast: BWI Live: A Penn State football podcast from Blue White Illustrated
Published On: Thu May 28 2026
Description: The Penn State football recruiting staff is waiting a week to start its official visits so we also have a week to do a wider look at the team’s recruiting situation heading into the final, pivotal stretch of commitment season. On today’s show, we’ll recap the latest recruiting news, including Penn State missing out on a pair of four-star prospects. Today’s main topic will be a gut check of where things are and where they will go over the next six months of recruiting. We’ll ask recruiting reporter Sean Fitz a series of questions to get his gut reaction to them on today’s show. We’ll also ask you for your thoughts in the BWI Mailbag!  00:00:00 - Intro & Today's Gut Check Format 00:01:24 - Breaking News: Carter Jones to Clemson & Colt Lumper to Michigan 00:04:05 - Colt Lumper to Michigan: What Happened & What's Next at TE 00:09:27 - What Carter Jones' Decision Tells Us About June Recruiting 00:11:37 - Caleb Cooper Official Visit: Penn State Hedging at Safety? 00:13:00 - Gut Check #1: Can Penn State's Class Crack the Top 15? 00:25:45 - Could Gabe Jenkins End Up at Penn State in the Portal Someday? 00:28:35 - Gut Check #3: What's the Biggest Miss of the 2027 Class? 00:29:07 - Defensive End: The Position That Worries Fitz Most 00:31:52 - Big DE vs. Speed Rusher: What Does Penn State Actually Need? 00:32:24 - What the Best NFL Pass Rushers Tell Us About Recruiting DE 00:37:23 - Gut Check #4: What's the Biggest WIN of the 2027 Class? 00:37:52 - Corners & Running Backs: Penn State's Strongest Position Groups 00:47:00 - BWI Mailbag: Who in the 2027 Class Can Contribute Earliest? 00:52:24 - Can Andy Paiva Play Early? The Nose Tackle Question 00:55:10 - Blake Benton's Long-Term Upside at Linebacker 00:56:28 - Is There Real Value in Penn State Playing at Temple? 00:59:13 - What's the Modern Player Schedule During the Summer? 01:01:29 - Final Thoughts & What's Coming Next Week Use Promo code PSUFans Liberty Lumber Products: https://libertylumberproducts.com/collections/penn-state Subscribe to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3KzEcqK Check out the site too! - https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-state-nittany-lions/join/ Get 20% off and free shipping at Fanatics with our affiliate link: https://fanatics.93n6tx.net/OeZg2z Use Code BWI20 to get 20 percent off Rhoback’s Gameday Collection: https://rhoback.com/collections/pennsylvania-state-university-licensed-collection Want breaking news like this delivered straight to your inbox for FREE? Sign up today for the BWI breaking newsletter! You’ll also get daily updates with the top headlines of the day five times a week. Click here to sign-up! https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-state-nittany-lions/newsletter/join/ #PennState  #NittanyLions   JOIN Blue White Illustrated: https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-state-nittany-lions/join/?plan=annual SUBSCRIBE to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube and enable alerts - new highlights and videos uploaded regularly: https://www.youtube.com/c/bluewhiteillustratedvideo?sub_confirmation Bookmark our homepage: https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-state-nittany-lions/ Subscribe to BWI Magazine and Newsletters:  https://bluewhiteonline.com  Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BlueWhiteIllustrated/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/PennStateOn3 Music and SFX from Zapsplat.com  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.