Latest news with #Falzone
USA Today
11 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Auburn football flips 2026 QB Peyton Falzone from Penn State
Peyton Falzone switched his commitment from Auburn to Penn State on Thursday in a surprising move. Auburn football's recruiting efforts for the 2026 cycle are starting to heat up after a few weeks of disappointment. Head coach Hugh Freeze dipped into his old bag of tricks to land the commitment of four-star 2026 quarterback Peyton Falzone, flipping him from Penn State. The move comes before the recruiting dead period, which gives the Tigers momentum to land several other key targets as the summer hits a dry point. If Falzone seems unfamiliar to you, you are not alone. Auburn entered his recruitment recently, extending an offer to him on June 2, and has worked quickly to sway him away from his home-state school, Penn State. After announcing the switch from the Nittany Lions to the Tigers, Falzone told 247Sports' Tom Loy that Auburn has plenty of features that drew him in. "Auburn is a place full of tradition," Falzone said in an interview with 247Sports. "My family and I have spent a lot of time discussing the school and its blend of elite football and high-level academics. It has it all. I'm blessed to be able to play at a school with a strong tradition of faith and family running throughout the university and the community. All of that is very important to us. I can't wait to be there. War Eagle." Falzone recently competed in the Elite 11 finals, where he showcased skills that wowed recruiting experts. "It's hard to find a more dynamic talent than Falzone," On3's Thomas Frank Carr wrote of Falzone. "His hands measure in at 11 inches and engulf the football when he throws. Hands that size give a quarterback elite control of the ball from a fumbling standpoint and allow for a sure grip in any weather. While he's emphatic that he's a quarterback, it's still impressive to watch Falzone casually pluck errant passes out of the air with one hand while waiting in line." Falzone is the No. 4 player from Pennsylvania for the 2026 class, and is the No. 11 quarterback in the cycle, ranking above several key names such as Notre Dame commit Noah Grubbs and Alabama pledge Jett Thomalla. The 6-4, 200-pound product of Nazareth High School is a strong dual-threat quarterback who passed for over 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns last season while rushing for an additional 420 yards and five scores as an 11th grader at Nazareth. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
USA Today
11 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Penn State quarterback commit flips to Auburn in shocking move
Penn State's 2026 recruiting class took a major hit on Thursday afternoon. Four-star quarterback Peyton Falzone, who had been committed to the Nittany Lions since April, flipped to Auburn, according to On3's Hayes Fawcett. The Tigers extended a late offer on June 2 after Falzone was already committed, but he never took an official visit, making this an unexpected move. Falzone, a Nazareth, Pennsylvania, native, ranks as the No. 6 recruit in the state and was expected to be a key piece of the 2026 class. It's not the first time in recent history a Pennsylvania quarterback has scorned Penn State for a southern team called the Tigers - class of 2025 quarterback Matt Zollers, who ranked as the No. 2 recruit in Pennsylvania, committed to Missouri, while former Nittany Lion Beau Pribula transferred to Missouri this offseason. Following the flip, Penn State is down to just one quarterback in the class, 4-star Troy Huhn out of California who ranks slightly lower than Falzone per the 247Sports composite rankings. It's unclear whether the Nittany Lions intend to pursue a second quarterback to fill Falzone's absence, but many of the top recruits are already spoken for this late in the cycle.
USA Today
13-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Penn State's Class of 2026 ranking gets bump from latest four-star commitment
Penn State's Class of 2026 ranking gets bump from latest four-star commitment Penn State continues to dominate the state on the recruiting trail, and it is paying off in the Class of 2026 recruiting rankings. In its latest effort to dominate the state on the recruiting trail, Penn State picked up a commitment from four-star quarterback Payton Falzone over the weekend. Falzone joins Penn State's Class of 2026 and is the second quarterback commitment on the board for the Nittany Lions in the recruiting cycle. So what does the latest commitment mean for Penn State's recruiting ranking among its peers? Now with 10 commitments on the board for the Class of 2026, Penn State's recruiting class has moved up to no. 6 in the updated composite rankings from 247Sports. Penn State's recruiting class currently sits third among big Ten schools behind USC (no. 1 nationally) and Ohio State (no. 3 nationally). On3 currently ranks Penn State as a top-10 class, although the cumulative ranking comes in a few spots lower at no. 9. The Nittany Lions are fourth among Big Ten schools on this updated list with Oregon (no. 4 nationally) ranking ahead of Penn State on On3's ranking. USC (no. 2 nationally) and Ohio State (no. 3 nationally) also stay ahead of Penn State. The updated team ranking list from Rivals is a bit less optimistic about Penn State's current recruiting haul. Rivals ranks Penn State at no. 14 in the Class of 2026 rankings at the moment, and Penn State is ranked fourth among Big Ten programs behind USC (no. 1 nationally), Ohio State (no. 5 nationally), and Oregon (no. 6 nationally). Penn State is one spot ahead of Illinois in the Rivals Class of 2026 rankings. It would appear James Frankklin is fulfilling his mission of dominating the state in recruiting in the Class of 2026. Penn State has received commitments from five players ranked in the top-10 in Pennsylvania; safety Matt Sieg (McDonald, Pa), offensive tackle Kevin Brown (Harrisburg, Pa), Falzone (Nazareth, Pa), running back Messiah Mickens (Harrisburg, Pa), and athlete David Davis (Pittsburgh, Pa). There could be one more to add with the state's top-ranked player Joey O'Brien from La Salle in Glenside, Pa yet to commit. Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.
USA Today
29-01-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Iowa football offers coveted 2026 Pennsylvania QB
Iowa football offers coveted 2026 Pennsylvania QB The Iowa Hawkeyes offered another quarterback in the 2026 class. Peyton Falzone, a 6-foot-5, 200 pound quarterback, reported an offer from the Hawkeyes on Tuesday. A product of Nazareth High School in Pennsylvania, Falzone is regarded as a consensus four-star prospect across the four major recruiting networks. 247Sports ranks Falzone as the nation's No. 195 player overall, as its No. 15 quarterback and as the No. 5 player from Pennsylvania. The On3 industry ranking places Falzone as the country's 193rd-ranked player, as the No. 15 quarterback and as the fifth-best player from Pennsylvania. Falzone passed for 2,136 yards and 23 touchdowns and also ran for 743 yards and eight more scores during his junior season at Nazareth. Falzone also holds offers from schools such as Penn State, Rutgers, Syracuse, Utah, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Iowa currently has six commits in its 2026 recruiting class, including fellow quarterback Cash Herrera out of The Bishop's School in La Jolla, Calif. The Hawkeyes also have pledges from offensive linemen Carson Nielsen, Owen Linder, Colin Whitters and Hudson Parliament and from defensive back Marcello Vitti. Here's a look at Falzone's junior season Hudl highlights. Iowa will host its Junior Day on March 8 and would love to have Falzone as one of its visitors. If Falzone were to pick Iowa, the star from Pennsylvania doesn't sound deterred that the Hawkeyes already have a quarterback committed in Herrera. "That's not really something that ever scared me. I know when you go and you play at the P4 level, you're going to be competing for your life every day, and every year they're going to bring in a new guy that's trying to be better than you. "It's going to be exciting to have someone else in a class to try to compete against and make each other better," Falzone told Eliot Clough of Hawkeye Beacon. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF
