Penn State Football: Nittany Lions Add Second 2025 Commitment in as Many Days

Penn State football’s 2025 picked up a second commitment in as many days following a pledge from western Pennsylvania running back Tiqwai Hayes on Monday afternoon. Hayes made his decision known in front of friends, family and teammates at Aliquippa High School.

The four-star prospect, who hits the scales at 5-foot-10 185-pounds, is rated the No. 11 prospect in the state and the No. 32 running back in the 2025 cycle according to the 247 Network’s composite rankings. Hayes is the second running back to verbally commit to Penn State for that cycle, joining Texas product Kiandre Barker as the fourth member of the class. That duo join Sunday afternoon linebacker commitment CJ McClary and cornerback Omari Gaines.

Hayes chose Penn State over a host of schools including Michigan, Maryland, Cincinnati and UConn but was, according to recruiting outlet, favored to land at Penn State. Hayes is also the first verbal commitment to Penn State’s 2025 class from within the Keystone State. The then three-man class entered Monday the No. 9 rated class very early in the 2025 cycle as Penn State continues a trend of landing a significant portion of each recruiting class fairly early in the process.