Ladies and gentlemen, Jayson Oweh!
The Skinny
Hometown/High School: Blairstown, NJ (Blairstown Academy)
Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 236 pounds
Ranking: ★★★★ (0.9514 247Sports Composite)
Notable Offers: Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Harvard
Highlights
The Tale
A former basketball prospect, Oweh started playing football his junior season, and quickly caught the attention of coaches around the nation. Penn State and Ohio State offered the New Jersey edge rusher in the spring, and since then, it’s been a back-and-forth battle between the Big Ten programs (definitely not rivals, though). Even as of a few weeks ago, Oweh’s recruitment was a toss up. But in the end, Oweh made the call for the Nittany Lions at the Under Armour All-American game, joining Penn State’s No. 4 ranked recruiting class.
Outlook
This is as impressive a recruiting victory that James Franklin has had during his tenure at Penn State. Being able to hold off Ohio State — who probably offered an easier path to playing time — is never an easy task, so kudos to Franklin and Co. for earning Oweh’s commitment.
Penn State has built strong enough depth at defensive end that Oweh will take a redshirt year in 2018, but after that, watch out. Despite being new to football, Oweh is an extremely intelligent kid who is picking up the game at a rapid rate. Just as importantly, though, Oweh is an elite athlete with superb length, and already knows how to flat out get after the quarterback. Give him a year to sit and learn under Sean Spencer, let him pack on 20 pounds of mass, and let him wreak havoc in 2019 and beyond.
Welcome to Penn State, Jayson!