Thursday, March 28, 2024
Home » News » Latest Penn State News » Penn State Football: Top Receiver Target Rodney Gallagher Commits to West Virginia

Penn State Football: Top Receiver Target Rodney Gallagher Commits to West Virginia

Penn State football’s top receiver target and in-state prospect Rodney Gallagher verbally committed to West Virginia on Wednesday afternoon. The Uniontown, Pa. native choose WVU over Penn State, Notre Dame, Oregon and many other programs.

Gallagher – who was once favored to join the Nittany Lions – is rated the second-best prospect in the state by the 247 Network for the 2023 recruiting cycle. The network also lists Gallagher as a four-star prospect and the No. 97 overall talent in his class. The 247 Network’s Composite rankings list him at the No. 101 spot.

In either case the loss of Gallagher to WVU is a defeat for James Franklin on the recruiting trail as he and his staff look to add to a 12-man class for the 2023 cycle currently rated the No. 3 overall in the nation by the 247 Network. The group is currently headlined by offensive lineman Alex Birchmeier who is a five-star prospect and the No. 32 overall recruit in the nation.

While nothing has been substantially reported at this time regarding his commitment, Gallagher could turn out to be the latest in a growing list of player swayed by opportunities surrounding name image and likeness that effectively allows incoming and current student-athletes to sign various business deals with little to no limitations. Some recruiting publications have suggested this is the case for Gallagher but facts and figures have gone unreported so far.

In any case Penn State continues to face challenges both on campus and elsewhere in a new landscape of college athletics that is increasingly seeing high profile athletes headed to the highest bidder.

“Last year [when] NIL was implemented, it was in its infancy stages,” Franklin said earlier this year. “We saw a little bit [of impact] but not a lot. It’s such a factor now that you could do everything right and do everything perfect and out-recruit everybody but you can lose a guy because of the NIL opportunities. So it’s hard for me to compare and contrast [recruiting years] because that’s just such a new dynamic that we’re going to have to be aggressive and bold with as well.”