Penn State back among Top 20 in Team Recruiting Rankings following Cooper Terwilliger commitment

Penn State picked up its seventh commitment in the 2027 recruiting class Monday morning with the addition of tight end Cooper Terwilliger.

A 6-foot-6, 215-pound prospect from T.F. Riggs in Pierre, S.D., Terwilliger made it no secret over the past year that his relationship with tight end coach/offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser was among the best he’s formed wth any coach throughout his recruitment. Head coach Matt Campbell, who offered him back in April 2024, also played a big role in this decision.

A consensus four-star prospect by all three major sites, Terwilliger is ranked No. 194 nationally in Rivals’ Industry Rankings. He’s also the ninth-ranked tight end and now the top-ranked recruit in Penn State’s class, which is now up to seven players.

His addition also had a big impact on the team recruiting rankings, with Penn State improving nine spots from No. 28 overall to No. 19.

Understanding the Rivals Team Rankings

For those unfamiliar with Rivals’ Team Rankings, there are two major differences compared to other sites that you need to know.

1) We use the Industry Rankings, which puts together all three major recruiting sites – Rivals, 247 and ESPN – to find a cumulative score for each prospect. It’s not just based on Rivals’ rankings.

2) Rivals’ Team Recruiting Rankings solves the problem of varying class sizes throughout a recruiting cycle by totaling the highest-rated commitments for each team based on a rolling average of current total commitments among Power Four schools. That average is currently six.

That second point is a major difference between 247Sports and Rivals. Because of that, classes with more overall commitments than others often rate higher early in the cycle.

That’s why On3 designed this system to give a more accurate projection throughout the cycle of where a particular school is on pace to finish.

Fans can learn more about On3’s Team Recruiting Rankings here.

Around the Big Ten

While fans should be excited to see Penn State back among the Top 20 nationally, there’s still plenty of work to do. In the Big Ten, the Nittany Lions are currently ranked seventh overall in the conference. However, with a score of 87.322, there’s not much separating Penn State from fifth, which is where Washington sits with an 87.850. Terwilliger’s commitment alone raised Penn State’s grade more than a full point.

With that said, there is a clear gap separating the Top 3 and everyone else.

With a grade of 93.705, Ohio State sits atop the conference and No. 3 overall nationally. The Buckeyes already hold two five-star commitments from DE David Jacobs and WR Jamier Brown, plus four other players who rank among the Top 200 nationally.

USC is right behind the Buckeyes at No. 4 overall nationally. Now up to 10 commitments, the Trojans are credited with one five-star commit, Ath. Honor Fa’alave-Johnson, plus three others who rank among the Top 100 nationally.

Oregon is third overall in the conference and No. 7 nationally with eight commitments so far. The Ducks don’t have any five-star commitments yet, but they do have five players committed who all rank ahead of Penn State’s entire class to this point. That includes Top 100 prospects like DE Rashad Streets and CB Ai’King Hall.

With No. 4 Nebraska and No. 9 Michigan separated by just 1.6 points currently, expect a lot to shuffle over the coming weeks and then again in June once official visits pick up at schools across the country.