The future of Penn State‘s secondary grew brighter Monday morning when four-star cornerback Daryus Dixson, ESPN’s No. 64 recruit in the 2025 class and No. 4 prospect from California, announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions.
A star defensive back for Southern California powerhouse Mater Dei High School, Dixson gave his pledge to Penn State after an official visit to State College over the weekend. Dixson picked the Nittany Lions over Washington and Miami, where he took recent official visits. The 6-foot, 180-pound defender now intends to shut down his recruitment ahead of a previously scheduled trip to Tennessee on June 14.
In an interview with ESPN, Dixson discussed the comfort he felt over the weekend on his first visit to Penn State, a trip that left him prepared to commit his future to the program more than 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.”
Among the coaches who made an impact on Dixson during his recruitment was Penn State cornerbacks and associate head coach Terry Smith, who previously visited Dixson at Mater Dei.
“[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 his commitment Dixson 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.