Penn State football continued its positive momentum on the recruiting trail Wednesday following the verbal commitment of four-star defensive end Jayden Woods. Woods is the 19th commit and the 10th four-star recruit in the Nittany Lions’ class of 2025.
According to the 247 Network, Penn State’s 2025 class is rated the sixth-best in the nation.
Woods, from Mill Valley High School in Shawnee, Kansas, is rated the 18th-best edge rusher at the national level No. 5 player overall in his home state, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He hits the scales at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds and joins a growing list of quality defensive ends in the class which include fellow four-star edge rushers Max Granville and Cortez Harris. Woods marks the latest of several verbal commitments to go in coach James Franklin and his staff’s way over the course of June, with eight future Nittany Lions making the call with only a few days remaining in the month.
July is generally a slower period for recruiting as coaches are limited in any contact they can make with prospects and their families.
Woods chose the Nittany Lions over the likes of Tennessee, Wisconsin and Purdue. Penn State has the No. 6 class in the nation following Woods’s commitment, per the 247Sports Composite rankings.