by: Justin Walker
Former Princeton Senior High School star and WVU football recruiting target, Daniel Jennings, has officially signed his National Letter of Intent with Penn State. The four-star defensive end was originally part of the 2026 recruiting class, but reclassified and has decided to move to Happy Valley a year early.
Jennings signed with the Nittany Lions on May 20 after finishing the necessary academic requirements to graduate from high school a year early.
As the top rated player in the state of West Virginia, Jennings was originally recruited to WVU by Neal Brown. He ultimately chose Penn State over the Mountaineers, but other power four schools had also shown interest in the 6 foot 2 inch edge rusher.
When speaking on Jennings arriving early, Penn State coach James Franklin made it clear that it was Jennings who wanted to make the move. “He was the number one player as a junior in the state. So once they wanted to do that, then it was ‘Ok, is there a way to make this work, to fulfill your responsibilities for graduation of high school from an NCAA perspective and from a Penn State perspective?’ And, then once we realized we could check all those boxes, we said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.'”
Jennings will have a chance to get on the field right away for the Nittany Lions. The Princeton native arrives in State College already at 250 pounds. Also, per a report from On3, fellow defensive end, Max Granville, is now dealing with a long-term injury. This opens the door for Jennings to possibly see playing time in 2025.
Jennings started his high school career at Graham High School (Va) where he became one of the top ten high school players in Virginia. However, he transferred to Princeton prior to his Junior year. He helped lead the Tigers to their first undefeated regular season in school history and a spot in the state semi-finals. He was a two-way player who shined on both sides of the ball. As a running back, he ran for 1,373 yards and 23 touchdowns on 130 carries. On defense, he accumulated 22 solo tackles, 38 total tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Jennings was a two-sport athlete who also played basketball in high school.
Photo Credit: wvva.com
