Penn State lands Bekkem Kritza, 3-star Class of 2025 QB recruit from Colorado
Penn State football’s 2025 recruiting class picked up a commitment from quarterback Bekkem Kritza on Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Kritza, from Fairview High School in Boulder, Colo., chose Penn State over Colorado, Texas A&M, Miami and Washington.
- The 6-foot-5, 182-pound Kritza is a three-star prospect ranked as the No. 405 prospect and No. 30 QB nationally and No. 1 player in Colorado in the 2025 class, according to the 247Sports Composite.
- Kritza made an unofficial visit to Beaver Stadium for the game against Michigan on Saturday and committed two days after Penn State fired offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.
- Kritza would be the first recruit from Colorado to sign with Penn State in the era of internet recruiting rankings since 2000.
The moment he made it official 🙌
3⭐️ QB Bekkem Kritza commits to Penn State over Colorado, Miami, Texas A&M and Washington 🏈
WATCH📺: https://t.co/Mnhbgzky4k pic.twitter.com/zyfF8YjvGj
— 247Sports (@247Sports) November 15, 2023
Why now?
Typically quarterbacks are among the first players committed in every class. A big reason for that is they can then peer recruit and help determine who they’re going to play with. The interesting thing here is that there’s no way for Kritza to know what Penn State’s offense is going to look like next year, let alone by the time he signs. That’s a risk on his part, but we’ve seen players commit before without knowing what the coaching staff would look like by the time they enrolled. Kent State wide receiver transfer Dante Cephas did as much last winter when he committed minutes after receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield was fired.
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Penn State’s current quarterback room consists of two quarterbacks who committed to Yurcich in Drew Allar and Jaxon Smolik, plus Beau Pribula, who committed when Kirk Ciarrocca was the coordinator. The Nittany Lions have a 2024 commitment from four-star QB Ethan Grunkemeyer from Ohio.
What comes next?
Kritza is the first player to commit to the 2025 class since the group added tight end Brady O’Hara in late September. The 2025 class now has six early verbal commitments, including a pair of running backs, a linebacker, a tight end and a cornerback.
Penn State’s 2024 class will be under the microscope for the next month-plus leading up to the December signing period. That group likely won’t have much movement at this point, given that Penn State has verbal commitments from 25 players in a class that ranks 13th in the 247Sports Composite. Franklin will be making the rounds on in-home visits shortly as the race to finalize the 2024 group is underway.
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(Photo: Keith Gillett / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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