Rivals 4-star CB Jaziel Hart decommits from Penn State

Penn State took another significant hit to its 2026 recruiting class on Tuesday, just two days removed from the school’s decision to fire head coach James Franklin.

Rivals four-star cornerback Jaziel Hart announced his decision to decommit from the Nittany Lions, becoming the third player to do so in the past 48 hours. Hart had been pledged to PSU since May 22, when he chose them over offers from Virginia Tech, Michigan, NC State and others.

Hart hadn’t shown any signs of wavering from that decision, but the choice to move on from Franklin — and ultimately the rest of his coaching staff — has him re-evaluating his options.

“It influences my recruitment kind of heavily especially when coach Franklin played a huge role in my recruitment,” he said on Sunday. “I didn’t think a year ago that he’d be getting fired especially being ranked No. 2 preseason and going to the playoffs (in 2024).”

The Roanoke (Va.) North Cross School standout joins four-star wide receiver Davion Brown and three-star wideout Lavar Keys in decommitting from the Nittany Lions. A host of other Penn State commits have announced they are re-opening their recruitments but have not left the class as of now.

Hart is the No. 558 overall prospect and No. 52 cornerback in the 2026 class, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services. He also ranks as the No. 16 player in Virginia.

Rivals, however, is much higher on him than the other two outlets. In the recently updated Rivals rankings, he was tabbed as a four-star prospect and the No. 34 cornerback in the country.

This story will be updated.