THE SKINNY
Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 225 pounds
Hometown/High School: Warren, OH (Warren G Harding H.S.)
Ranking: ★★★★ (0.9286 247Sports — No. 191 overall)
Notable Offers: Indiana, Michigan State, UNC, Pitt, SMU, and Syracuse
HIGHLIGHTS
THE TALE & OUTLOOK
One of the top prospects in Pennsylvania for the 2027 class, Penn State got involved with Gabe Jenkins way back in December 2023 when the Nittany Lions offered Jenkins following his freshman year of high school. The relationship between Penn State (and, really, cornerbacks coach Terry Smith)
and Jenkins has grown since then, with Jenkins being comfortable enough to make the call for the Nittany Lions just before his junior season.
What position Jenkins will play at Penn State remains to be seen. He was recruited by the aforementioned Terry Smith, so cornerback is certainly a possibility. But like with most young prospects, there’s still a lot of physical development for Jenkins to go through. He has good size right now at 6-foot-0, 187 pounds, and looks to have the frame to support more. We’ll see how he looks this season, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up in the 6-foot-1, 200+ range when he enrolls at Penn State, which opens up debate as to where in the secondary he fits best.
Regardless of his longterm positional home, Jenkins fits the mold of what the Nittany Lions have targeted in the secondary the past few classes: big kids, good athletes, better football players. Even if you look at last class, guys like Daryus Dixson, Jahmir Joseph, and Josh Johnson all fit into that category, and Jenkins continues that in the 2027 class which is shaping up to be a very good one for the Nittany Lions. Penn State’s 2027 class, with four commitments, is currently ranked No. 1 in the country according to the 247Sports Composite. It’s *very* early, but a really good start.
