The Notre Dame football team received its first piece in the Class of 2027 last week with the pledge of long snapper Sean Kraft. And considering the roll the Fighting Irish have been on, it makes sense to think they’ll always get whoever they go after. However it doesn't appear Marcus Freeman will beat James Franklin and Penn State out for highly sought-after wide receiver, Khalil Taylor.
Taylor doubled down on his pledge to go to State College earlier this week, saying he is "locked in" to head to Happy Valley. He made the comments at the Under Armour Next Future 50 in Florida.
Khalil Taylor says he’s 'locked in' with Penn State despite late Notre Dame offer
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Seton LaSalle (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) product is considered the third-best prospect in the state of Pennsylvania, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings. Notre Dame football just offered Taylor, and he has offers to visit other major schools as well. But, at least for now, Penn State will be his future home.
Freeman’s program has seemingly had Penn State's number recently on the recruiting trail, so there was some reason to believe they could also get Taylor. The Fighting Irish recently received pledges from safety Joey O'Brien and cornerback Khary Adams as well as offensive tackle Grayson McKeogh.
The good news here is that the number of times Freeman has stuffed Franklin into a locker means that the Notre Dame football team can afford to lose a battle to the Nittany Lions here and there. It’s also worth pointing out that while Taylor claims he’s locked in with Franklin’s squad, he’s a 2027 recruit. That means there’s plenty of time to keep working on him until he signs on the dotted line in December of 2026.