Penn State suffered an immediate hit on the recruiting trail Sunday, will a slew of recruits decommitting in the aftermath of the school's decision to fire head coach James Franklin following 12 seasons with the program.
Less than an hour after Franklin was fired, four-star 2027 recruit Kemon Spell, the No. 1 running back in the 2027 cycle and the No. 15 player overall in the ESPN Junior 300, decommitted from the Nittany Lions, sources told ESPN.
Two other ESPN Junior 300 recruits -- offensive tackle Layton Von Brandt (No. 35 overall) and cornerback Gabriel Jenkins (No. 242) -- also announced Sunday that they'd be decommitting from Penn State's 2027 recruiting class upon news of the coaching change.
With four-star wide receiver Khalil Taylor (No. 66 overall) decommitting on Friday, a once-promising Nittany Lions class in the 2027 cycle no longer holds a single pledge.
As for the 2026 class, which entered Sunday ranked 17th nationally, three-star wide receiver Lavar Keys is the lone prospect to decommit in the immediate wake of Franklin's exit. However, it is suddenly vulnerable less than two months out from the December early signing period.
High-profile commits from the SC Next ESPN 300 include wide receiver Davion Brown (No. 71 overall), offensive tackle Kevin Brown (No. 80) and running Messiah Mickens (No. 135), as well as quarterback pledge Troy Huhn (No. 186), and they could attract significant flip interest from across the country over the remainder of the cycle as Penn State navigates its post-Franklin future.
"We believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships," Penn State athletic director Patrick Kraft said in a statement.
The Nittany Lions consistently recruited among the top programs in the Big Ten across Franklin's tenure, topping out with the nation's No. 4 class in the 2018 cycle, when Penn State signed five-stars Micah Parsons and Justin Shorter.
The program finished in the top 15 of ESPN's recruiting rankings in each of the past four cycles with quarterback Drew Allar and running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton -- all members of the program's 2025 roster -- among the top additions over that span.
The school announced Sunday that associate head coach Terry Smith will serve as Penn State's interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Riding a three-game losing streak, the Nittany Lions (3-3) travel to face Iowa in Week 8.