Penn State Football: 5-star QB Justin Fields de-commits from Nittany Lions

Penn State football lost a major prospect in five-star quarterback Justin Fields as he de-committed this week.

After thriving in Elite 11 camp this year and being named one of the finalists, former Penn State quarterback commit and five-star recruit Justin Fields announced he rescinded his commitment to Penn State and that he has reopened his recruitment.

Fields is the kind of high school talent that has college coaches drooling because he’s 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds with blazing speed and he’s sure to see a lot of elite programs trying to get him to commit.

“My decision to reopen my recruitment is in no way a reflection of any deficiencies of PSU, its coaches, players or fans,” Fields said in a statement he released via social media. “I still believe that PSU is a great academic and athletic opportunity for any student athlete and it will remain one of the top schools that I would consider.”

So, while Penn State is still in the mix, it appears that they are now a long shot to secure a promising quarterback they had a commitment from only in December. What happened to change his mind if he still holds the Penn State program in high esteem? Fields has tore up some quarterback camps and saw his star rise.

Also, based on his press release, you can read the tea leaves and infer that he doesn’t feel James Franklin has built a program at Penn State that will compete for a National Championship.

That subtle dig alone will hurt more than losing Fields.

It’s also worth noting that Penn State has lost two big commitments this spring as Fields and Micah Peters, a five-star defensive lineman, decommited back in April.

This kind of publicity can’t be the kind of thing James Franklin wants for his program heading into the summer.

Florida and Florida State are two of the prominent schools reported to be interested in him and LSU has a chance, too.

According to ESPN, Georgia’s in the mix because it’s the school in his home state, but it’s a long shot because of their already crowded quarterback position.

"Georgia is the in-state school and is still looking for a quarterback in this class. However, the Dawgs have landed two big-name ESPN 300 quarterbacks in the past two classes in Jacob Eason and Jake Fromm, so it might be difficult for Georgia to land Fields."

Based on early reports, three SEC schools are leading the way in signing Fields. the fact he’s moving away from a Big Ten school to likely an SEC school is probably a better fit for his skill sets and how he can help a college team win games.

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It will be interesting to see which SEC school is able to lure this talented quarterback away from Penn State and the Big Ten.