2023 quarterback Jaxon Smolik commits to Penn State

Jaxon Smolik isn’t one to pass up a good opportunity. The former Tulane quarterback commit, who backed off his pledge from the Green Wave on Thursday, has seen his recruitment change on a dime.

Earlier this summer, Smolik competed at an Elite 11 Regional, but didn’t receive an invite to the Finals in Los Angeles at the end of June. Just days before the event was set to begin, he got a call that they needed a replacement for five-star Tennessee commit Nico Iamaleava, who had a conflict elsewhere. Smolik impressed at the event, so much so that he was named one of On3’s top performers.

It was after that he started hearing from Penn State more often. And when fellow E11 Finals participant and Nittany Lions pledge Marcus Stokes flipped to Florida, it opened a door for Penn State with Smolik. Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich called him soon after and invited him to the program’s recruiting event and camp session at the end of July.

After taking the visit and throwing in front of the staff, the three-star passer from West Des Moines (Iowa) Dowling Catholic made up his mind that he wanted to play in the Big Ten. He made that a reality on Friday when he committed to James Franklin and the Nittany Lions.

The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder is the No. 816 overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He ranks as the nation’s No. 39 quarterback and the No. 9 player in the state of Iowa.

On3 is a bit higher on him than the other recruiting services though, ranking him as the No. 31 QB in the country.

Jaxon Smolik is a much-needed dose of momentum

In addition to getting its quarterback in this class after grabbing five-star Drew Allar last cycle, Franklin and his staff get a desperate boost on the recruiting trail.

The Nittany Lions have seen a few key defections in recent weeks with Stokes, four-star EDGE Tomarrion Parker and three-star wideout Yazeed Haynes all either decommitting or flipping to other programs. Penn State also lost four-star athlete Neeo Avery early in the spring, and he eventually committed to Ole Miss.

Smolik shifts the winds back in the right direction as Penn State looks to hold onto — and add to — its 2023 class, which sits at No. 10 in the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings.

In addition to the Nittany Lions, Smolik was also considering Wisconsin, Notre Dame and a handful of others before he locked in with Penn State.