Penn State Football strengthens recruiting efforts in key areas
Over the course of the last few weeks, Penn State has made a string of hirings in the form of new wide receivers coach Marques Hagans as well as recruiting coordinators Khalil Ahmad and DJ Bryant Jr.
With these hires, the Nittany Lions didn’t just fulfill positions of need on their coaching staff and recruiting staff but also helped strengthen their efforts in a trio of key recruiting grounds.
Below, we take a look at each of the three hires and which areas they will help the Nittany Lions with when it comes to recruiting.
Marques Hagans - Wide Receivers Coach (Virginia)
The newly minted wide receivers coach brings not just the ability to recruit all of Virginia to the Nittany Lions but he brings immense connections especially to the Virginia Beach / Tidewater area.
This key recruiting ground is an area where the Nittany Lions have not been able to take much advantage of in the James Franklin era, the lone exception being current wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith.
That being said, Hagans is revered in the area, a native of Newport News. In fact he’s seen much as a living legend in the area, he grew up with Allen Iverson and together the two dominated the sports scene (albeit different high schools) in the area throughout the early-to-mid 90s which included leading Hampton High School to a state title in football before going onto have a highly productive career at the University of Virginia.
With his already revered status in the area, the Nittany Lions should be able to dip more into the region with Hagans on staff. While he wasn’t known to be a home run recruiter at Virginia, he should be able to become the quite the asset for the Nittany Lions with his connections to the area being a big reason why but also the Penn State brand is a much bigger one on the recruiting trail than Virginia which should help breed more success for Hagans itself.
Khalil Ahmad - Recruiting Coordinator (New Jersey)
Before the commitment of 2025 OL Jaelyne Matthews earlier this week, Penn State didn’t land a recruit from New Jersey since the 2020 recruiting cycle. That type of stretch likely won’t happen again now with Khalil Ahmad on the staff.
Ahmad comes to Happy Valley after spending time at both Syracuse and Rutgers on both programs recruiting staffs.
At Syracuse, he was an integral part of landing multiple New Jersey prospects both out of the prep ranks and transfer portal including defensive back transfers in Jaedan Gould from Nebraska and Jayden Bellamy from Notre Dame. He also prior to his departure from the program, was thought highly enough of that he was given the ability to go on the road to recruit while Orange fulfilled vacancies on their staff. Prior to his time with Syracuse and Rutgers, he was a high school coach in New Jersey at multiple programs.
While New Jersey may not be the priority it once was for the program, having a recruiter coordinator like Ahmad on the staff will allow the Nittany Lions to maintain strong relationships with key schools in New Jersey. With those maintained relationships, the program could see an increase in success in landing those prospects they do choose to target from the Garden State.
DJ Bryant Jr - Recruiting Coordinator (Maryland)
The newest addition to the Nittany Lions recruiting staff is DJ Bryant Jr. He comes to Happy Valley after spending three seasons with Colorado as part of the Buffaloes recruiting staff under Karl Dorrell.
Bryant for the Nittany Lions will bring another voice to the table when it comes to recruiting Maryland. A native of Baltimore, Bryant attended Randallastown High School before going onto have a successful career at James Madison. After a three year stint in the NFL which included winning a Super Bowl with his hometown Baltimore Ravens in 2013, Bryant entered the coaching ranks at Milford Mill High School in Windsor Mill, MD.
From there, he would quickly rise up the coaching ladder, beginning at Furman as an intern 2015 and 2016 before spending one season at James Madison in 2017. With the Dukes he would be a defensive quality control coach before working for a short period with the defensive ends. He would then head to Towson as a defensive quality control assistant, spending three seasons there before heading to Colorado in 2020. At Colorado, Bryant quickly bd and one of the Buffaloes top recruiting coordinators. Now, he comes back closer to home and brings more ties to a Penn State program that already has plenty within Maryland
With his deep ties to Maryland but also to Virginia, Bryant will help strengthen an area that the Nittany Lions have had strong success in over the James Franklin era. Additionally, thanks to his time in Boulder, he will also bring some ties to the mountain region and west coast that should complement the connections of special teams coordinator Stacey Collins who spent his entire coaching career on the west coast before being hired by James Franklin last offseason.
Other key staff members and their recruiting territories…
Terry Smith - The Nittany Lions cornerbacks coach has connections seemingly to everyone in not just the state of Pennsylvania but especially Pittsburgh. The former Gateway High School head coach has been one of James Franklin’s best recruiters since he came to Happy Valley as a coach and a major reason for the Nittany Lions success on the western side of the state.
JaJaun Seider - If Terry Smith isn’t the Nittany Lions top recruiter, it’s running backs coach JaJaun Seider. A tremendous recruiter with the ability to recruit anyone from anywhere, Seider has helped the Nittany Lions become a consistent presence in the state of Florida. Since adding Seider, the program has seen an uptick in their presence and ability to land top targets from the Sunshine State including Elliott Washington and King Mack in their 2023 recruiting class. On top of his connections to Florida, Seider is also very well connected in Northern Virginia.
Anthony Poindexter - Talking about Virginia, another staffer with key connections to the Old Dominion State is safeties coach Anthony Poindexter. Like with Hagans, Poindexter is highly regarded in the state thanks to a legendary high school career but also a College Football Hall of Fame career at the University of Virginia.
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