PENN HILLS, Pa. — Penn State football head coach James Franklin made his patented helicopter entrance at Penn Hills High School Friday night to check in on a handful of WPIAL recruits.
Associate head coach and cornerbacks coach Terry Smith — one of the top recruiters in the Pittsburgh area — joined Franklin to check in on Aliquippa’s Tiqwai Hayes and Larry Moon III, along with Penn Hills’ Carter Bonner.
Hayes — a 5-foot-10, 190-pound running back — committed to Penn State in September of last year as a member of the class of 2025. He holds a four-star rating from Rivals and is ranked as the 20th-best player at his position.
While Hayes is battling through an injury and is a game-time decision against Penn Hills, the coaching staff will no doubt further their relationship with Hayes, who has been pursued by other Power Four programs since his commitment.
Hayes did announce via X that he will be back in State College this weekend for a gameday visit as the Nittany Lions take on Kent State.
Franklin and Smith were also in attendance to check in on two 2027 prospects that hold Penn State offers.
Moon — a 5-foot-11, 180-pound four-star defensive back — has been a key Penn State target for quite some time, picking up an offer in June of 2023. He has taken at least seven visits to Penn State, according to Rivals.com.
Franklin and Smith are working to build their connection with the coveted recruit, who holds offers from other top-tier programs such as Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Notre Dame and many others.
Also in that class, Bonner holds an offer from the Nittany Lions. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound wide receiver/defensive back has collegiate measurables and holds other offers from Pitt, Michigan State, West Virginia, Maryland, UNLV and Akron.
Bonner picked up and offer from Penn State in April of this year and made a game day visit last season against Indiana.
Don’t let Terry Smith near #10 QB1, Terry is a prolific closer. He and On Campus Stadium Please are tight.
James Franklin is a bald dork.
Will never understand the desire of recruits to hastily choose Penn State when they get 4 star guys from all across the nation and never manage to win the Big Ten. Unfortunately many rush into a commitment to them and always end up falling short of anything meaningful. They get the recruits but never get meaningful results with those recruits. You have to go back to 1995 for anything truly meaningful while constantly getting top recruits. I for once would like to see Pitt get a majority of these recruits and actually produce something with them unlike Penn State. For… Read more »
Excuse me. It was 1994 when they went 12-0.
Before NIL this might be more important, but now it’s all about the money!
Pitt just needs to keep winning, and get a big time AD who can get boosters to start giving “Their Fair Share”.
H2P!!!