Northeast Spotlight: Four commitment predictions

Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Ryan O’Bleness makes his predictions for some of the top uncommitted prospects in the Northeast region.

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In an unsurprising move, Baldwin decommitted from Indiana on Oct. 2. He committed to IU in April and was the program’s highest-rated commit in the 2025 class, but the writing appeared to be on the wall as Baldwin’s recruitment seemed to be gaining steam over the past month or so despite his pledge to the Hoosiers.

In the month of September alone, Baldwin received offers from Colorado, Missouri, Penn State, UCLA and Virginia Tech. He’s also been in contact with Alabama, and his most recent offer came from Florida on Oct. 3.

The four-star defensive back took an official visit to Colorado on Sept. 20, which went very well. The Buffaloes are a top option for Baldwin, and are considered the favorite as of right now. With that said, he also named Missouri, Penn State and UCLA as schools sticking out to him, and it will be interesting to see if anything progresses with Florida or other programs.

Prediction: Colorado

For the 2026 prospects on the list, the process is still mostly in the beginning stages and things likely can and will change in their recruitments, so these predictions are mostly about calling early shots. The 2026 recruit on the list I have the most confidence in as of right now, though, is predicting Coke to Penn State.

He has a trio of FutureCasts in place for PSU from writers at Happy Valley Insider and Coke has already been in Happy Valley for multiple of the Nittany Lions’ home games in the 2024 season. Coke also already has two of his Harrisburg teammates committed to Penn State’s 2026 class in four-star offensive tackle Kevin Brown and four-star running back Messiah Mickens.

Additionally, the Pennsylvania prospect — who is listed as an athlete, but projects as a wide receiver at the college level — has told Rivals in the past that he believes Penn State wide receivers coach Marques Hagans is somebody who can develop him.

Coke has options, with 25 total offers and recent visits to Florida State and Rutgers, but all things point to the Nittany Lions right now.

Prediction: Penn State

While the confidence is pretty high in my prediction for Coke, I would say my current pick for Gildea is less so, but more based on a gut feeling as of right now. He will be back at Rutgers this weekend — a program that has offered and one that he’s already visited multiple times. This Saturday will mark at least Gildea’s fourth trip to Piscataway.

Gildea plays his prep ball nearby at The Hun School of Princeton in New Jersey, and the Scarlet Knights and head coach Greg Schiano certainly want to keep the top talent in the state home. Gildea also recently told Rivals that Rutgers was one of the top schools for him as of right now.

He has additional offers from Boston College, Pittsburgh, South Florida, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. He also took visits this fall to Michigan and Michigan State. More schools are likely to get involved as his recruitment progresses, and again, things can always change, but I expect Rutgers to remain toward the top of the list throughout.

Prediction: Rutgers

This is probably another case of it being too early to call, but Penn State should feel pretty good about where it stands with Sieg right now. The four-star, in-state athlete has visited Happy Valley multiple times throughout his recruitment, including as recently as Sept. 7. He enjoyed that trip and plans to return to campus again both on Nov. 2 (versus Ohio State) and Nov. 9 (“White Out” game versus Washington).

It is clear to Sieg that the Nittany Lions are prioritizing him.

“My Penn State visit was great,” Sieg told Rivals last month. “They definitely treated my family and me as a priority and I can’t wait to get back there.”

With close to 20 scholarship offers already, though, the competition will be plentiful. Sieg also already took a visit to West Virginia and will be back in Morgantown on Saturday as the Mountaineers take on Iowa State. He’s also taken trips to Pittsburgh and Virginia this fall, and is considering visits to Missouri and Wisconsin (potentially Oct. 26).

There is nothing imminent with his timeline, as Sieg does not have a commitment date in mind yet, but said that he will know when he’s ready. It feels that Penn State will remain a top option for him as that day slowly approaches.

Prediction: Penn State