What should Penn State fans know about 3-star safety Darrell Carey?: Commit impact
Penn State picked up its 11th commitment in the Class of 2026 on Friday when Maryland safety Darrell Carey picked the program. What are the Lions getting? We break it down in our latest commitment impact below.
1. How it started
Virginia Tech was the first school to offer Carey back in October of 2023. Penn State joined the mix in November 2024. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Hyattsville, Md., native ended up with approximately 20 offers.
2. Who else was involved?
Carey announced a top five back in March. South Carolina, Oregon, Maryland, Texas A&M, and Penn State made the cut.
3. Path to a decision
Penn State is the only finalist to host Carey this spring. He visited campus on April 12. With official visits set for June to both return to State College and see the Terrapins, Carey passed on waiting to take those trips and instead decided to wrap up his recruitment days after leaving the Lasch Building. He hinted at a plan to do so in an interview this week with Blue-White Illustrated recruiting insider Ryan Snyder.
“They definitely are a top school for me,” Carey said at he time. “They’re definitely top three. I could see myself committing sooner than later, but I’m still thinking about it more. If I do make a move, I won’t be taking official visits to other schools. I’m still thinking about all of that.”
His thought process ended with a commitment to the Lions.
4. What is Penn State getting in Carey?
Checking in at No. 15 on BWI publisher Sean Fitz’s February big board for the Class of 2026, Carey has long been a high-priority target for the Nittany Lions. He joins Pennsylvania native Matt Sieg as the Lions’ second commitment at safety in this cycle.
Here’s BWI film analyst Thomas Frank Carr’s first thoughts on the new Penn State pledge:
“Carey is a big-bodied safety with plenty of upside. He also shows good positional versatility to play in the slot, in the box and in zone coverage. While he’ll need to improve his skills in all of those areas, his upward trajectory and potential make him a strong bet to out-perform his current three-star ranking.”
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Shedeur Sanders drafted
The wait is over
- 2New
Costly fall in NFL Draft
How much plummet costs Shedeur Sanders
- 3Hot
Prank Callers revealed
Video of Shedeur Sanders prank callers
- 4
Picks by Conference
SEC, Big Ten continue to dominate Draft
- 5
RG3 hammers NFL execs
Over Shedeur Sanders situation
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
5. What has he said about the Nittany Lions?
During his recent visit to Penn State, Carey raved about the program’s facilities, head coach James Franklin, and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter.
“When we first got to their football facility, they were showing me that their players had access to it 24 hours a day,” Carey told BWI. “You could go in at 3 o’clock in the morning if you want. You can go in there at any time and get on the jugs machine, work out and just do what you need to do to get ready for practice.”
“Another thing was Coach [James] Franklin’s PowerPoint. He was showing us how many guys get drafted and the knowledge that he had for everything like that. He was showing us how guys get developed and how the draft works, but it was more so about how important it is to graduate from there and leave with a degree.”
6. More on the Penn State Class of 2026
Penn State is in the top 10 nationally. Its 10-man class entered the day at No. 9 in the On3 Industry Team Rankings for the Class of 2026. Carey’s commitment bolstered that placement. See the full class here.
