Penn State Football Flips Alabama Commit for 2023 Class

Penn State football bounced back from a tough week on the recruiting trail on Friday afternoon by flipping a four-star prospect who had previously been committed to Alabama.

Defensive back Elliot Washington II, from Venice, Florida, announced his verbal commitment to Penn State football’s Class of 2023 Friday afternoon, becoming the fifth defensive back to join the class. Washington had originally been committed to Alabama since January 2022.

“After exploring all options throughout my recruitment process, I will be decommitting from the University of Alabama,” Washington wrote. “After further conversation with my family I will be committing to the Pennsylvania State University.”

He added that he was “1000% committed.”

Washington’s commitment comes just one day after the Nittany Lions lost four-star quarterback commit Marcus Stokes when he flipped to Florida. Penn State also lost out on two top recruiting targets — running back Treyaun Webb and athlete Cameron Seldon — on Thursday. 

247Sports’ composite rankings list Washington as the country’s sixth-best safety and the No. 25 recruit in the state of Florida. Washington is the second-highest rated defensive back commitment ever secured by James Franklin, behind only Lamont Wade in 2016.