Nittany Lions land 2027 QB Will Wood: 'I just fell in love with Penn State'

Penn State has its quarterback for the Class of 2027.

On Friday, Massachusetts native Will Wood announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions, picking Penn State over Boston College.

Listed at just under 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Wood earned a handful of scholarship offers following his sophomore season. However, it was his junior season, when Wood passed for 2,812 yards, 42 touchdowns and just one interception, that grabbed the attention of the majority of Power Four programs that came calling.

“I just grew really close to the staff. They’re about all the things that I’m about, especially Coach [Jake] Waters. I love the way he teaches,” Wood said. “I grew really close to him over these past few months. Coach [Matt] Campbell, him and Coach [Taylor] Mouser are the type of guys I want to play for.

“Obviously, I just fell in love with Penn State, the place. I got to visit a couple times, and I had been there before. It just felt right.”

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Like many other New England prospects, Boston College and Syracuse hosted Wood and his family multiple times early in his recruitment. The three-star signal-caller then traveled a bit further this past spring, checking out programs like Arkansas, North Carolina, Stanford and West Virginia.

However, a visit to Penn State at the end of March really changed Wood’s recruitment. In addition to his on-the-field skills, Wood’s character and leadership qualities became apparent to multiple staff members, pushing him higher up their board.

A few weeks later, Waters traveled to Wood’s school, Xaverian Brothers, to watch him throw, and that’s when it became apparent that they had to offer. That took place a few days later, when Wood returned to Penn State on April 20 for a personal visit with the staff.

“Coach Campbell, Coach Waters, Coach Mouser and everyone else are just people who love football and care about their guys. The culture there seems to be super strong and that’s why they are going to build an elite program,” Wood told Rivals analyst Steve Wiltfong.

According to the Industry Rankings, which combines Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN for a cumulative grade, Wood is ranked No. 416 nationally, putting him just outside of four-star range. He’s the 28th-ranked quarterback in the class and No. 3 overall in Massachusetts. Wood is also now the sixth-ranked player in Penn State’s class.