Penn State Reportedly Losing Recruiting Staffer With New Jersey Ties to Temple

Penn State will be moving on from one of its recruiting staffers. Khalil Ahmad, a recruiting coordinator for personnel and recruitment for the Nittany Lions, is set to be hired in a “high-ranking front office capacity” at Temple, 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported on Friday.

Ahmad joined James Franklin’s recruiting staff in 2023 after spending one season as Syracuse’s director of high school relations. He briefly returned to the Orange last offseason to become Fran Brown’s executive director of recruiting, but re-joined Penn State shortly after.

A native of Montclair, New Jersey, Ahmad has a deep connection to the Garden State, and it’s shown in the players he’s recruited. Ahmad served in Rutgers’ player development department prior to his initial move to Syracuse. He has also coached as the offensive coordinator at New Jersey’s Paterson Eastside and Passaic high schools.

Ahmad played an integral role in helping the Nittany Lions sign four New Jersey prospects during the 2025 recruiting cycle. That would mark the program’s most since 2015, Franklin’s second Penn State recruiting class. 

Malachi Goodman, a four-star offensive lineman and the team’s highest-rated signee, hails from Paramus, New Jersey. Four-star cornerback Jahmir Joseph, three-star offensive lineman Michael Troutman and three-star safety Braswell Thomas are also Garden State natives.