Quarterback recruiting moves quickly these days, and Penn State recently discovered this the hard way. Bringing in game-changing players like Drew Allar gave the program a sense of stability—until it didn’t. You’ll be left scrambling if you’re still waiting after the top guys leave the board because things start to fall quickly.
Penn State’s recruiting journey for quarterbacks has always been tough, and they got a legit gut punch when Peter Bourque committed to Michigan. This isn’t the first time the Lions have faced a blow. Four-star quarterback Peyton Falzone chose to flip his commitment to Auburn. The fact that Bourque wasn’t just any other recruit, he built close connections with the staff while he visited the Happy Valley 7 times!
In a recent episode of Locked On Nittany Lions, Brian Smith, a recruiting analyst, was called in by host Zach Seyko to find out what actually happened when Penn State confined in on one of the top 2027 QB targets, four-star Peter Bourque, only to have him flip to Michigan. When asked why Penn State often ends up missing out on its top quarterback targets, Brian didn’t shy away from pointing out an obvious factor — the wide receiver room. “Probably a combination of events,” Smith said. “Part of it is who kids grew up rooting for. Part of it is the recruiting visit may just went better at another school, and part of it, I think, is the wide receiver room at Penn State here lately hasn’t been that exciting. That last part has hurt a bunch of schools over the years.”
And with NIL and the transfer portal shaking up the landscape, “changed the landscape of college football. You have to get your QB. You have to go get your QB target sooner rather than later,” Zach said. WR depth has a direct impact on a quarterback’s success, hence helping his NFL draft stock, so if a QB wants to maximize his profile, he must commit to a program with top-tier wideouts. The stats back up that perception for Penn State, too. In the 2024 season, Penn State averaged just 227.9 passing yards per game, which placed them around 59th nationally.
Zach elaborated on Penn State’s recent quarterback recruiting difficulties, saying, “The fact of the matter is, from my point of view is that you did get [Ethan] Grunkemeyer in 2024, and that’s good. You continued that trend with Drew Aller, but at some point that string of quarterbacks is going to end if you go 0 for 3 in this 2027 cycle. Yeah, sometimes it’s just tough, man.” The fact that Penn State’s 2025 recruiting class was ranked No. 12 nationally by ESPN probably masks the issue, but flips from top players like Bourque and Falzone is a reminder that the Nittany Lions have yet not figure out their QB situation.
Meet Keegan Croucher, 2027’s Rising QB Star
The next man up for Penn State in the 2027 cycle, Keegan Croucher. It takes a season or two for some QBs to get noticed, but Keegan Croucher? Everyone starts talking as soon as he shows up. Croucher, a 2027 four-star QB from Connecticut’s Cheshire Academy, has been building up stats, highlight reels, and offers like a pro. According to Zach, “He’s a pretty good player… I saw him at the Under Armour Future 50 event. He’s got a frame they can fill out.” This summer, Croucher has been carefully planning his recruiting path, scheduling visits to schools such as Penn State, Ole Miss, and Oregon. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, he has the stats, size, and confidence that elite programs seek. Croucher is clearly in high demand with 15-17 scholarship offers from Big Ten, SEC, and ACC schools, but he’s taking his time, making sure he ends up somewhere that fits.
PSU needs to change course quickly now that Peter Bourque is no longer in charge, and Croucher’s hiring has “accelerated here.” His three favorites? Ole Miss, Oregon, and Penn State make for an odd but high-stakes battle. “It’s a weird list. Penn State has not done well when it comes to recruiting against Oregon in these head-to-head battles. They lose every single time,” he added. “If this was Penn State and Ole Miss, I’d say, ‘Okay, this is a tossup,” he said, highlighting that SEC country pull gives Ole Miss an edge, too.
“I love their offensive coaching staff… Coach [Charlie] Weis as their OC… and Coach Joe Judge as their quarterbacks coach… Having a coach who’s been at all levels and knows football better than anyone else is awesome,” he said of Ole Miss. And the hype isn’t just talk; Croucher backs it up with stats. He was named small-school Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for almost 3,000 yards and 31 touchdowns as a freshman at Fonda-Fultonville. He kept getting better at Cheshire, where he completed 145 of 218 passes in an Air Raid system for over 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns.
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