THE SKINNY

Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 220 pounds

Hometown/High School: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Imhotep Institute)

Ranking: ★★★ (0.8678 247Sports Composite)

Notable Offers: Arizona State, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Pitt, Texas A&M

HIGHLIGHTS

THE TALE

Keon Wylie is a player who has long been on the radar for the Nittany Lions. Wylie picked up his offer from the Nittany Lions on April 15, 2020. This offer came during the COVID-19 recruiting shutdown, but he had made it to campus for his first unofficial visit to Penn State prior to the pandemic beginning.

While Wylie had long been on the radar for James Franklin and company it was not clear where he sat on their board entering the spring. It appeared that Wylie may have been in need of a big spring season and having his measurables checkout during a campus visit to get a green light from the Nittany Lions.

Well, Wylie was dominant for Imhotep in the spring. Wylie recorded his second consecutive season with double digit sacks and was as good a football player as anyone in the city of Philadelphia.

Following his dominant spring season the Nittany Lions revved up their pursuit of Wylie. At this point, Wylie joining the class started to appear to be a likely outcome. Following his official visit to campus the weekend of June 18, Wylie committing to Penn State became a question of when, not if.

OUTLOOK

Wylie will arrive on campus in need of a redshirt year, time in Dwight Galt’s strength and conditioning program and working with defensive coordinator/linebacker coach Brent Pry learning the ins and outs of the linebacker position. That said, two to three years down the road Wylie can become a solid box linebacker for the Nittany Lions.

Wylie is an explosive player who moves well on the field. He is a plus athlete, which will translate well as he transitions from being a high school defensive end to being a collegiate linebacker.

The length of Wylie’s 6-foot-3 frame should translate well to being a box linebacker. He is an aggressive player who is not afraid to get physical. As long as Wylie can adjust to the read and react portion of playing linebacker, he should be a good one for the Nittany Lions.