The future of Penn State’s secondary brightened on Monday morning as four-star cornerback Daryus Dixson, ranked No. 64 in the 2025 class by ESPN and the No. 4 prospect from California, committed to the Nittany Lions.
Dixson, a standout defensive back from Mater Dei High School in Southern California, committed to Penn State following an official visit to State College over the weekend. He chose the Nittany Lions over Washington and Miami, where he had also taken recent official visits. The 6-foot, 180-pound defender plans to end his recruitment, foregoing a previously scheduled trip to Tennessee on June 14.
In an ESPN interview, Dixson expressed how comfortable he felt during his first visit to Penn State, which solidified his decision to commit to a program over 2,500 miles from home.
“It’s just a college town,” Dixson told ESPN. “I kind of liked that environment where everything is focused on just the sport. The games are going to be packed. I love the environment I was in and I just felt that connection with the coaches.”
Penn State cornerbacks and associate head coach Terry Smith, who had visited Dixson at Mater Dei, played a significant role in his recruitment.
“[Smith] came and talked to me at my school, so this wasn’t my first encounter with Coach Terry,” Dixson said. “I’d been wanting to see [Penn State] since then. When we set up that [official visit] and I got to be out there with everybody, they gave me the same type of vibe and relationship I had just meeting Terry in California.”
With Dixson’s commitment, he becomes the sixth ESPN 300 commit and the top defensive pledge in James Franklin’s 2025 class, joining linebackers D.J. McClary (No. 145 in ESPN 300) and Alex Tatsch (No. 286) among the defenders set to join Penn State in this cycle.
Four-star running back Alvin Henderson (No. 55), who committed to the Nittany Lions on April 11, remains the top-ranked member of Penn State’s incoming class.
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