1/30/2023 football Edit

Penn State gets 2025 class started with Rivals100 OT Jaelyne Matthews

Dylan Callaghan-Croley • Happy Valley Insider

Editor

Penn State Football is only just starting to get the ball rolling in their 2024 recruiting class, but on Monday morning, the Nittany Lions got their 2025 recruiting class started with a commitment from 2025 offensive tackle Jaelyne Matthews.

Matthews is a Rivals100 prospect in the 2025 recruiting cycle, ranked 77th in the nation and the top prospect from New Jersey in his class. The Tom Rivers North High School prospect is the first commitment from the Garden State for Penn State since the 2020 recruiting cycle when they landed defensive end Amin Vanover and safety Ji'Ayir Brown.

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This is significant news for the Nittany Lions when it comes to recruiting the state of New Jersey, as head coach James Franklin recently added Khalil Ahmad to the recruiting staff in hopes that his connections would help PSU get back into the fertile recruiting ground that is New Jersey.

Along with Matthews ties to Ahmad, he also made the trip out to State College this past weekend and that's what ended up sealing the deal.

“I was excited about going back to Happy Valley with my mother and grandmother,” he told Nittany Nation. “I love spending lots of time with the coaching staff.”

Spending that extra time with the coaching staff helped turn that visit into a commitment as Matthews was an early priority for the Nittany Lions in the 2025 class. Outside of the Nittany Lions, Georgia, Rutgers, and Tennessee were all early contenders for Matthews recruitment.

MORE: Jaelyn Matthews breaks down his commitment to Penn State.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR PENN STATE?

While pen will not officially meet paper for another nearly two years, picking up Matthews early on to get their 2025 recruiting class started. Matthews is already in the Rivals top 100 and has a ceiling as a potential five-star recruit down the road. Matthews already has elite size at 6-foot-6 and 300-pounds with the potential only get bigger.

It's also another testament to the momentum that the Nittany Lions have built on the recruiting trail over the last few months thanks to their 2022 season that saw them go 11-2 and defeat Utah in the Rose Bowl. It's the second commitment the Nittany Lions have picked up in January, also picking up a commitment from 2024 LB Anthony Speca.

The commitment from Matthews also helps maintain Penn State's foothold in New Jersey, a state that has brought the Nittany Lions great success over the years. While the Nittany Lions did not sign any players from New Jersey since their 2020 recruiting class, the program would still like to dip into New Jersey periodically going forward as the state produces quite a bit of talent from time to time.