Penn State football coach James Franklin earned a major recruiting victory Saturday night, as Pennsylvania 4-star quarterback Peyton Falzone committed to the Nittany Lions’ 2026 recruiting class. Falzone announced his decision in a social media post, becoming the second quarterback to commit to the class.
Falzone, a rising star in national recruiting, is a 4-star prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite, and the 11th-ranked quarterback in the nation.
Blessed to be staying home #Committed #WeAre@coachjfranklin @Kotelnicki @DannyOBrienQB @chrismahon_ @Coach_Elby @shadrich80 @BradMaendler @NazarethTD @NAHSBlueEagles pic.twitter.com/WlDtCLrHl8
— Peyton Falzone (@PeytonFalzone) April 12, 2025
He also is the 247Sports’ No. 4 recruit in Pennsylvania for the 2026 cycle, and Penn State has received commitments from three of the top four.
Falzone made the Pennsylvania Class 6A all-state team as a junior at Nazareth. He threw for 2,135 yards and 23 touchdowns last season, adding eight rushing touchdowns and 697 yards. As a sophomore, Falzone threw for 2,427 yards and 19 touchdowns.
In my 18 years of QB training, I’ve had so many good ones but I don’t think I’ve ever had a QB who’s as physically talented as 2026 Nazareth (PA) QB Peyton Falzone.
On top of those physical attributes is a top 1% drive/work ethic to improve. Still a work in progress but VERY… pic.twitter.com/jz68N69Sp8
— Brad Maendler (@BradMaendler) March 16, 2025
Falzone initially committed to Virginia Tech and coach Brent Pry in June 2024 but reopened the recruiting process in November. He has made multiple visits to Penn State, along with trips to Ohio State, Iowa, Utah and Syracuse. Falzone also has received offers from Wisconsin, West Virginia and Rutgers.
The 6-5, 200-pound quarterback trains with Ohio-based position coach Brad Maendler, who also works with current Penn State quarterbacks Drew Allar and Ethan Grunkemeyer. Maendler has raved about Falzone on social media.
I hit a new PR in the 100m dash and was clocked at a 10.68 hand time converted to a 10.94 FAT! @NAHSBlueEagles @NazarethTD @BradMaendler pic.twitter.com/ISTaQ2KUum
— Peyton Falzone (@PeytonFalzone) March 27, 2025
“In my 18 years of QB training, I’ve had so many good ones but I don’t think I’ve ever had a QB who’s as physically talented as 2026 Nazareth (PA) QB Peyton Falzone,” Maendler wrote in a March post on X.
Penn State now has two quarterbacks committed to its 2026 class. Falzone joins Troy Huhn, the 4-star prospect from California who announced his decision in June 2024. Falzone is the 10th player to commit to Penn State’s 2026 class, which ranks sixth nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite.
Falzone attends the same high school as Jahan Dotson, the former Penn State receiver who won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles. His father Tom is Nazareth’s head football coach. Recently, Falzone ran a personal-best time of 10.68 seconds (hand-timed) in the 100-meter dash for the Blue Eagles’ track team.
