Penn State adds intriguing 2026 commitment from Irish kicking star

Published On: July 5, 2025

On Saturday, Penn State received a bit of a surprise in the recruiting process.

Ian McCann-Gibbs, a kicker and punter for Northern Ireland, pledged allegiance to the Nittany Lions. It’s interesting to note that since Alex Bacchetta in the 2022 class, James Franklin has not signed a scholarship high school specialist. Since then, he has moved to Rice.

According to Blue-White Illustrated, McCann-Gibbs demonstrated his abilities at a camp with the Penn State staff this past Sunday.

Completely dedicatedWith great pleasure, I announce my full scholarship commitment to @PennStateFballon.Thank you so much, Coach J. Franklin, Coach L. Sustig, Coach Tuck, and Coach Lang22.Without @TadhgLeader, this would not have been feasible, enabling me to realize this ambition.MeV09wNqjz pic.twitter.com/

McCann-Gibbs, who is from Armagh City, is rated by Kohl’s Kicking as a five-star kicker (22nd overall) and a 4.5-star punter (36th).The leading kicking evaluation agency in the country gave the new Nittany Lion the following description:

McCann-Gibbs is a 17-year-old Irish footballer with exceptional talent. At a windy Spring Ranking Event in March 2025, he scored 11/15 points, 114.15 points on kickoffs, and 106.3 points in punting. McCann-Gibbs is a D1 player with a lot of potential as a punter and kicker. McCann-Gibbs should be extensively recruited in the upcoming months because he is incredibly mature for his age!

McCann-Gibbs works with Irish coach Tadhg Leader, who has worked with players including Andy Quinn of Boston College, Patrick McAteer, a kicker for Troy, Rutgers kicker Jack Scullion, and Charlie Smyth, a camp invitee for the New Orleans Saints. Given that Allen Tucker, the new special teams analyst at Penn State, recently moved from Troy to Happy Valley this offseason, McAteer is an especially intriguing choice.

With in-state star Harran Zureikat as a target prior to his commitment to Georgia, Penn State has considered hiring a scholarship specialist this cycle.

With 23 commits, Penn State’s 2026 class is currently ranked eighth in the country. However, the major high school recruiting organizations have not yet ranked McCann-Gibbs.

Since Wednesday, four players have committed to the Nittany Lions: McCann-Gibbs, offensive tackle Jack Fuchs, defensive end Jackson Ford, and tight end Pierce Petersohn. Peyton Falzone, an in-state quarterback, is another pledge they have lost.