Penn State's bond with three-star WR Jeff Exinor leads to commitment
Class of 2025 high-three-star Jeff Exinor Jr. has committed to Penn State.
Exinor currently attends McDonogh School in Owing Mills, Maryland and whittled down his list of more than 20 scholarship offers to two finalists before making his final decision: PSU and Maryland. However, it was the Nittany Lions' long-standing relationship with Exinor that ultimately made the difference.
Interestingly, Penn State was the the first program to offer Exinor in his recruitment way back in 2021, and the consistency the school showed ever since then helped secure the wide receiver's verbal pledge.
The Nittany Lions' track record of producing NFL Draft picks and ranking amongst the top teams in the country year-in and year-out under head coach James Franklin were also things that stood out to Exinor.
"Penn State was my very first offer, so over the years I’ve been able to build a great relationship with them," Exinor told Rivals. "They also consistently rank in the top-10 and pump out NFL talent."
Exinor has taken multiple visits to Happy Valley, including most recently for his official visit on June 7. Franklin has also taken various trips to McDonogh to check in with Exinor and his coaches during contact periods. Exinor feels a strong bond with Franklin.
More recently, he's gotten to know offensive recruiting coordinator/wide receivers coach Marques Hagans well, and has started to learn more about newly-hired offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnick and the offensive system as well.
"My relationship with Coach Franklin is good," Exinor explained. "He regularly takes trips down to my school during recruiting season and we have been able to have some great conversations over the years. I’ve really only been in contact with Coach Hagans within the last six or seven months, but in that time we have been able to have some great talks not only about football but in life as well.
"I have a newer relationship with Coach Kotelnicki, really stemming from the official visit, but we had great conversations about their offensive scheme and how I could contribute to the team."
Exinor enjoyed the official visit to Penn State, which gave him a chance to truly connect with the coaching staff and the current Nittany Lion players, including his former high school teammates, redshirt freshman defensive end Mason Robison and junior defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton.
"I’d say the best part for me was just getting a chance to connect with the staff and the players — especially my former high school teammates," Exinor said.
Exinor also took official visits to Maryland during the weekend of June 21 and Virginia Tech during the weekend of April 12.
Exinor ranks as the No. 12 player in the state of Maryland and No. 73 wide receiver in the 2025 cycle.
He had additional scholarship offers from Boston College, Duke, Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Syracuse, Tennessee, UCLA, USC, West Virginia, Wisconsin and several other.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Exinor provides excellent size as a wide receiver. He uses his strong hands, measurables and physicality to his advantage, and is hard to bring down once the ball is in his hands. Exinor has the coveted combination of size, strength and solid speed that makes him a constant threat to opposing defenses.
"I would describe myself as a big receiver," Exinor said. "I have that size to get physical and bully smaller defensive backs, and the athleticism to make a play on the ball no matter what. My size also helps me break tackles easily, and mixed with my speed, it gives me a chance to score every time I touch the ball."
McDonogh head coach Hakeem Sule added his thoughts on Exinor as well.
"Jeff is a powerful receiver with exceptional strength and dependable hands," Sule said about Exinor. "He consistently delivers big plays every game. His dedication and reliability will make him a key player for Penn State."
While he excels on the football field, Exinor is also an accomplished basketball player as a small forward/wing. He had three Division I basketball offers from Siena, Radford and North Carolina A&T, and interest from several other schools as well.
With Exinor's pledge, Penn State's 2025 class currently includes 20 total commitments and ranks in the top-five in the national rankings.