Triton’s Petersohn picks Penn State over U

GOPHERS FOOTBALL >> RECRUITING

Triton quarterback Pierce Petersohn (1) has passed on Minnesota and instead committed to its Big Ten rival Penn State. FORUM NEWS SERVICE

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DODGE CENTER, Minn. >> “We Are” won out over “Row the Boat.”

Pierce Petersohn, possibly the most heavily recruited athlete from Triton High School ever, and certainly in the past 30 years, is heading east to play big-time college football. After a lengthy recruiting process, Petersohn announced his commitment to play for Penn State University on Wednesday.

“Let’s go, home!!” the high school senior-to-be wrote in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account.

Petersohn narrowed his choice to two universities on June 17, Minnesota and Penn State. He posted a graphic that day that included a photo of him in his Triton football uniform and helmet, with the logos of the Gophers and Nittany Lions on either side of him, and a simple message: “Where’s home?!”

His decision is music to the ears of Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin and his staff. After one more school year at Triton, Petersohn will head to Happy Valley, in State College, Pa., to join a football program that earned its first College Football Playoff appearance last season, when it went 13-3 and reached the national semifinals.

Petersohn’s status as a must-have all-around athlete for Division I programs was no doubt helped by social media. That’s what the 6-foot-5, 200-pound quarterback/defensive back has been recruited as — an athlete. His combination of size, speed, intelligence and athleticism grabbed the attention of scouts at all levels of college football and track and field.

Prior to Petersohn’s commitment, Penn State’s 2026 recruiting class was ranked No. 8 in the country and third in the 18-team Big Ten Conference by 247Sports. Petersohn is the Nittany Lions’ 11th four-star recruit in the class, to go along with 10 three-star athletes.

The Gophers’ class is ranked 14th.

Penn State, Minnesota, Iowa State, North Dakota, South Dakota and Northern Iowa were among the programs that traveled to Dodge Center for in-school or in-home visits with Petersohn, his coaches and his family. Petersohn also received offers from Power 4 programs Iowa, Northwestern, Duke, and Kansas State, and FCS powerhouse North Dakota State.