Penn State lands its quarterback in Iowa native Jaxon Smolik

Penn State picked up its quarterback for the Class of 2023 Friday in West Des Moines, Iowa, native Jaxon Smolik. Listed at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, Smolik emerged on Penn State’s radar in early July after former commit Marcus Stokes switched to Florida. Both Stokes and Smolik performed at the Elite 11 Finals in Los Angles, with Smolik earning top performer honors from On3.

At the time, Smolik had just committed to Tulane about a week prior, but a late invitation to the Elite 11 changed everything about his recruitment. Within a week or so, Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich would begin building a relationship with Smolik, and that eventually led to him camping with the staff July 29. By the time he left campus, Smolik was Penn State’s top target to fill the position.

Smolik returned home to think it over the past two weeks. He admitted last week that schools like Notre Dame and Wisconsin were showing interest, but in the end, Smolik knew that Penn State was the school for him.

“I’ve always liked Penn State. I’ve always watched them since Trace McSorley was there. He was one of my favorite college quarterbacks,” Smolik said, when asked why Penn State was the school for him. “It was a great place when I went up there and toured. Everyone was super nice and I loved everything about it, between the coaches and all the staff. All the other recruits were super nice to me and the facilities were awesome as well. It’s a great fit for me.”

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Smolik informed Penn State of his decision earlier this week. He said both Yurcich and head coach James Franklin were excited to have the process over with.

“They were all excited and hyped,” Smolik said. “I think they were excited to get this process over with. They thought they were done with it a while ago with Stokes, but then they had to start over. But they were just super excited. They were making sure I was done with recruiting after this. I made it clear I’ll be sticking with Penn State.”

Last season, Smolik broke his collarbone during the first series of the first game. He managed to return late in the season, participating in four games. He finished with 959 yards passing, nine touchdowns and two interceptions, completing 65.5 percent of his throws.

With Smolik now committed, Penn State is up to 19 commitments in the Class of 2023. The Nittany Lions began the week losing a commitment from four-star edge rusher Tomarrion Parker. They’ve since rallied with two more commitments. In addition to Smolik, Penn State also added On3 Consensus four-star wide receiver Carmelo Taylor Wednesday evening.

Related: On3 Director of Scouting Charles Power breaks down WR Carmelo Taylor

Smolik currently holds a three-star rating with a grade of 87 by On3. He’s the 31st-ranked quarterback in the Class of 2023, but following his workout at the Elite 11, Smolik will be someone our staff watches closely for a potential move in the rankings.

“He was impressive every day and really got better as the event moved on,” said On3 Director of Scouting Charles Power. “Day-to-day, I think he gained confidence and felt like he belonged. By the end of the event, it was pretty evident he was going to be in our top 11 from the Elite 11 Finals. I think the pure passing ability, which is really what that setting is for evaluating, and just kind of the physical tools and how you throw, I think he stacked up really well there.”

“Throwing alongside all these other highly touted quarterbacks, all these Power Five commits, I think he showed that he more than belonged. He’s in that tier as an arm talent. I was impressed with how the ball came out of his hand. He was very consistent, threw a very tight spiral, and there wasn’t a whole lot of variance in his throws. He was a consistent performer and not a lot of ups and downs with him. So I think that that bodes well.”