Analysis: Why Penn State has 2 quarterbacks committed in its 2026 recruiting class

Regardless of any personal thoughts — or the actual efficacy — of Drew Allar, Sean Clifford, Trace McSorley and Christian Hackenberg in their careers, one thing is certain about Penn State’s quarterback rooms under James Franklin: They’ve been incredibly stable.

All of those names have been multi-year starters, with Allar the latest in the chain. But the future is a little more up in the air in Happy Valley, with neither Ethan Grunkemeyer nor Jaxon Smolik a surefire No. 2 behind Allar, still needing to take a step to be the starter next season and beyond. 2025 signee Bekkem Kritza is even further off, with the understanding upon enrollment that he’d be a long-term project piece with upside.

While things could be on track to change next season, Penn State is the only power-conference program to have not added a transfer quarterback since 2018. Franklin and his staff have instead preferred to find their stability through high school recruitment and development.

And in this year’s 2026 cycle, the Nittany Lions have put their faith in a pair of prospects: four-stars Troy Huhn and Peyton Falzone.

Huhn, from Mission Hills High School in California, ranks in the 247Sports Composite as the No. 20 QB and his state’s 28th-best player. He committed last June, sparking a Penn State class that currently sits fourth nationally.

Meanwhile, Falzone, from Nazareth High School in Pennsylvania, is 17th among QBs and sixth in the state after a winding journey to his April 12 commitment.

“We’re a developmental program across the board. We believe in that,” Franklin said in April, addressing his lack of portal QB additions. “I also think early on, we kind of had to be that way. But I think it also is kind of ingrained in who we are and our DNA. We’re upfront and transparent with people, and I think we’ve done a good job of developing that position. So the next guy up has had an opportunity to compete and win the starting job. For the most part, that’s gone pretty, pretty well.”

This won’t be the first time Penn State signs two quarterbacks in a recruiting class, but it’s not a particularly common occurrence, either. The Lions have done it three other times in Franklin’s 13 recruiting cycles at Penn State: 2014, McSorley and Michael O’Connor; 2019, Ta’Quan Roberson and Michael Johnson; and 2022, Allar and Beau Pribula.

Asked about the factors he considers when deciding to take two signal callers in one year, Franklin said, ideally, they’ll have different skill sets. Take Allar and Pribula, the latter of whom was a true dual threat better known for his rushing ability.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Huhn is more of a pocket-style quarterback, whose arm has gained him strong recognition through the recruiting process. He just earned an Under Armour All-America game invite at an event at the start of this month.

Falzone, with a similar build at 6-5 and 200 pounds, prides himself on his dual-threat ability, while his arm talent actually held Penn State from offering him at first. He’s worked on it with Brad Maendlar, the same trainer Allar and Grunkemeyer use, and made strides. But still, the running is a big plus and differentiates his skill set from Huhn’s.

He told PennLive he’s posted 10.68-second, hand-timed 100-meter dashes and 30.94-second, laser-timed 300-meter hurdle attempts in track.

“Yeah, I can throw the ball, but being a pocket passer, it’s not really a thing right now,” Falzone said in an interview. “And if you look in the NFL, top quarterbacks — Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson — they’re moving around. They’re making plays with their legs. And that’s kind of why you’ve seen the Aaron Rodgers types starting to phase out. Now, Aaron Rodgers will forever be one of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL, but when the game is transitioning, it’s important that you have a quarterback who can use his legs.

“I do that every game, whether it’s taking off and getting the first down or it’s breaking off a long run on a designed read option game. So that’s definitely gonna be a huge part of our package there, and I’m looking forward to that.”

Falzone said he and Huhn have been in contact throughout this process, and the idea of competition at quarterback is something that excites him. He called his counterpart a “great quarterback” who can “spin the ball.”

“Wherever you go, you’re going to compete, whether it’s going to be someone comes in through the portal or they bring in someone below you,” Falzone said. “Because, at this level, Penn State is going to try to recruit someone bigger, faster, stronger, better than me in the 2027 class. And that’s just how it is. That’s reality.

“So I want to go there and compete, and I’m not going to shy away if someone else is in the class. A lot of kids might say, ‘I want it to be my opportunity.’ But really, I think I’m going to get better by competing against someone like him. Because he’s a great quarterback. I have a lot of respect for him, and I’m looking forward to going in there with him. I think he feels the same way. So it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

Still, Penn State has a long way to go before it needs to worry about life after Allar. It’s most likely one of Grunkemeyer or Smolik take over next fall, and Huhn and Falzone will probably be a few years away from contributing.

It’s also worth noting four of the six quarterbacks from two-QB classes at Penn State have eventually entered the transfer portal. Especially in the new era of college football where players have much more freedom to move as they please, it’s tough to keep more than one starting-caliber signal caller happy on your roster. That’s why Franklin and his staff have been particularly open with Huhn and Falzone ahead of December’s signing period.

“At the end of the day, we want to make sure that we have as much competition at every position as we possibly can,” Franklin said. “We want to be aggressive at that position. But I will also say this: We don’t do anything without communicating ahead of time. Because we’ve got a ton of respect, not only for our program and how we have to run it, but also the decisions people have made. So we’re just very up front, honest and transparent, and we wouldn’t make any of those decisions unless people were comfortable with them.”