Jackson Ford entered Wednesday's early signing period ready to accept his fate: He'd most likely be living alone next year as a true freshman at Penn State. That's what happens when the entire recruiting class -- except for you -- decommits from the program.
But then on Wednesday afternoon, Ford got some exciting news when four-star quarterback Peyton Falzone signed with the Nittany Lions.
"I'm glad I have a roommate at least," a now-less-lonely Ford jokingly said Thursday. "We're in this together."
Ford and Falzone became social media sensations on Wednesday afternoon when they became the only two players in the country to sign as part of Penn State's 2026 recruiting class. At one point in this cycle, the Nittany Lions had nearly 30 commits and were on track for another star-studded group under coach James Franklin. Then Franklin was fired in mid-October, and two dozen prospects decommitted between then and Wednesday as the class fell apart.
The new coach, whenever Penn State hires one, will likely add a few more prospects during the February signing period. But for now, it's just the two of them. Their text message thread isn't even big enough to be considered a group chat. But at least they have each other.
"It was kind of awkward at first because I actually haven't talked to (Falzone) as much," Ford said. "(But) we exchanged numbers, and we were actually talking for a while (Wednesday) night and I feel a lot more comfortable.
"I'm really excited to get down there with him."
Ford, a four-star edge rusher out of Malvern Prep outside of Philadelphia, committed to the Nittany Lions in June when Franklin and Penn State were a trendy pick to compete for the 2025 national title. He's ranked No. 256 nationally in the 247Sports Composite and chose the Nittany Lions over Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin. No one at the time had any idea what the next five months might have in store.
After Franklin was fired, the class started to fall apart. A bunch of recruits followed Franklin to Virginia Tech. Others picked new schools. But after careful thought, Ford decided he wanted to stay put, even if no one else shared that sentiment.
"The people that are still in the building and just the reputation the school has made throughout the (years) made me want to stick it out with them," he said. "Seeing a lot of my teammates leave was definitely disheartening, but at the end of the day, I still know why I committed and all that.
"Them leaving, obviously, it was sad, and it sucked that they did leave, but just because they left wasn't going to make me leave or decommit."
Ford and Falzone, who will both be early enrollees, hopped on the phone for the first time Wednesday night and started to get to know each other after Falzone's whirlwind recruitment concluded with him signing with Penn State.
Falzon, from Nazareth, Pa., first committed to Virginia Tech in June 2024, then decommitted from the Hokies that November and committed to Penn State in April 2025. He flipped from Penn State to Auburn in June, but decommitted again when the Tigers fired Hugh Freeze last month, and he eventually found his way back home again to Penn State on Wednesday.
In the aftermath of the duo being the lone wolves to pledge their loyalties to the Nittany Lions, there has been no shortage of fun on social media celebrating State College's two newest heroes. Ford -- who is hoping interim head coach Terry Smith gets the full-time job -- got a kick out of a post that suggested the university should build him a statue as the solo commit before Falzone jumped on board.
Ford believes their friendship will only grow from a shared experience like this. And whatever happens, they'll forever be remembered as the two prospects who made up the 2026 Penn State class in the early signing period that 247Sports ranked No. 156 nationally as of Thursday night.
"I think this is great," Ford said. "And I think that's just something that we feed off of and can use to grow. When you're faced with adversity, you come out just better in all ways and all forms. So it sucks right now, and maybe from the outside looking in, it's like we're in a terrible spot and we're not going to succeed. But we know that this is how it's really starting.
"I'm really excited for us. I think we're going to come out of this a lot better than people think we will."