Welcome back into the Lions 24-7 podcast. I am Tyler Donahue. He is Tyler Calveruso.

We've got a couple new Penn State commitments to break down, beginning with the one that came through on Tuesday, running back out of South Carolina.

Aiden Gibson, a pretty highly rated player, a top 24-7 prospect. We're going to break down his edition just a few days ago since we last came to you with an episode of this podcast. Penn State also picked up a very intriguing offensive lineman from Ohio, who we're going to get to a little bit later. We're going to finish this episode with some conversation on incoming nitty lines who are part of that 2026 recruiting class that Matt Campbell put together over the course of December into January a bit.

And these are the remaining freshmen who will join the Penn State roster this summer ahead of preseason camp.

So we got a lot of topics to dive into with Tyler.

No one better to do this with.

So Mr. Calvaruso,

welcome back in. You talked about Aidan Gibson and his upcoming announcement. Last we spoke

to you here on the podcast, you were saying things were pointing toward Penn State. Gibson made

good on that with his decision on Tuesday. He is a Nittany Lions commit now. And so talk us

through the recruitment that led here for the Woodruff, South Carolina high school standout. You always had the sense that Penn State was in a really strong spot with Aiding Gibson. That sentiment was furthered when Gibson had a multi-day visit for spring practice in early April. It was one of the best visits that Gibson had in his recruitment. That's what he told me. the relationship between him and Savon Huggins, really, really strong. The relationship with Taylor Mouser, really, really strong. She's a very clear fit in Taylor Mouser's offense. There were a few days towards the end of April where it got a little bit dicey. I felt like Ruckers was going to be the one to get this one across the line. but Penn State was able to swing momentum back in its favor, then held on a few weeks originally, I'd say later than anticipated, because he was supposed to commit early May, was May 1st, was his original date, then he pushed back.

So fight off for a few weeks, but this one has been Penn State since that momentum

shifted back in favor of the ending lines. And now they've got him on board as their top running

back in the 27 class. It's a strong get. He was a priority target from the start going back to the

winter when they offered and they're able to get this one done. And what I would say is a pretty

significant recruiting win on the offensive side of the ball. He's pushing towards six foot to 220 pounds at this point with

another year of high school football head. I want to get into the scouting report on Gibson

with you in a moment. But really an interesting top five. You had South Carolina, the Gamecocks,

and their coaching staff kind of has their back against the walls right now based on on field performances. But they made a strong pitch for him to stay home, be part of the building towards something better with the future of that Gamecox program. You also had North Carolina in Louisville in his top five. But to me, it really stands out. We're talking about a top 24-7 four-star guy.

He's number 12 in running back rankings.

He's firmly inside four-star territory.

And Rutgers was the team that Penn State was really going shoulder to shoulder with down the stretch, a big 10 battle of sorts.

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