Penn State climbs in Rivals Team Rankings with latest pledge

The ascent in the Rivals Industry Rankings for the Class of 2027 continued for head coach Matt Campbell and the Penn State Nittany Lions on Thursday afternoon. Stanley Montgomery, a four-star defensive lineman out of Philadelphia’s Archbishop Ryan, announced his pledge via social media channels.

He picked Penn State from a group of finalists that also included Kentucky, Virginia, and Northwestern following a decommitment from Syracuse in February. 

As a result of that selection, Penn State moved from No. 16 in the Rivals Industry Rankings to No. 14 in the updated tally. The Nittany Lions have 13 total commitments in the class, with Montgomery making the fourth four-star. He’s joined by nine three-stars, with the average rating for the class checking in at 87.85 and an overall team score of 90.535.

The news gives Penn State the fifth-best class in the Big Ten behind Southern Cal (No. 4 overall), Ohio State (No. 5), Oregon (No. 6), and Nebraska (No. 13). Other conference competitors currently in the Top 25 include Washington at No. 17, Wisconsin at No. 20, UCLA at No. 22, and Michigan at No. 25.

What are the Rivals Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings?

The 2027 Rivals Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings are continuously updated to reflect the latest movement in the college football recruiting landscape. The model attempts to account for varying class sizes on an evolving scale.

Along with combining the individual player and team rankings from the major recruiting sites, the system compiles each school’s highest-rated commitments to create a rolling average among Power Five programs. At this stage in the process, that number sits at five commitments nationally.

Additionally, the team rankings eliminate bonus points for having more commitments than other programs, reducing the built-in advantages of significantly larger class sizes. The model doesn’t disproportionately weight a program’s handful of top commitments and more appropriately represents the overall talent and depth of a class.

Matt Campbell seeks relational recruiting model

On the recruiting front, recognizing the intentionality required in transitioning from Iowa State to Penn State this offseason, Campbell acknowledged the mindset the Nittany Lions have taken.

“I think, again, for us, no different than how you’re building your football program. You’re playing catch-up in some ways in terms of your ’27 class. Because to me, no different than I said about spring practice, slow and right is critical,” said Campbell earlier this month. “It’s all about the human beings that we bring in here. And so I’m a huge person in relationships.

“Who fits Penn State? Who fits our culture. So we’re going to do it slow and right. We’re going to make sure any young man that we try to bring in here is the right fit for our football program.”

Montgomery is the second-highest rated recruit in the class behind Kei’Shjuan Telfair.

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