James Franklin has been seen taking a helicopter to Pine Richland High School outside of Pittsburgh to watch four-star wide receiver Khalil Taylor play this fall, but that hasn’t been enough to keep the 2027 in-state star locked in with the program. On Friday, Taylor announced his de-commitment from Penn State.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound receiver is the 56th overall player in the 2027 class according to 247Sports Composite and the No. 3 player in Pennsylvania. His de-commitment, maybe not so coincidentally, comes on the heels of the Nittany Lions' two-game losing streak to Oregon and UCLA, which has all but dashed their College Football Playoff hopes and put major pressure on James Franklin’s job.