La Salle five-star defensive back and top Penn State recruit Joey O’Brien has narrowed down his finalists.
But will O’Brien pick the Nittany Lions? We’ll find out soon enough.
O’Brien will choose between Penn State, Oregon, Notre Dame and Clemson when the La Salle star announces his commitment on June 20, according to a report from on3.
O’Brien is the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania and the No. 30 overall prospect in the 2026 cycle, according to 247 Sports.
O’Brien has been a top priority for James Franklin and Penn State for quite a while. He first visited Happy Valley as a prospect when he was in eighth grade, and Penn State was among the first top programs to offer the La Salle star after his sophomore season.
O’Brien made the trip to Penn State in May for an official visit. He was at Clemson last weekend and was scheduled to visit Notre Dame and Oregon this week.
Over the last three years, O’Brien has shined as a safety and cornerback at La Salle. He stood out as a wide receiver. And while he’s being recruited primarily as a DB, there’s reason to believe he can make an impact on the other side of the ball at the next level, too.
“He’s just different from the standpoint of how he can impact the game in both phases,” La Salle coach Brett Gordon told PennLive. “To see somebody who has his God-given size and athletic ability and then to see his range as a defensive back and as a receiver, his ability to track the ball, his catch radius, his instincts, I think that’s what separates him. He’s the all-inclusive guy.”
Asked about how Penn State has handled O’Brien’s recruitment, Gordon commended Franklin, safeties coach Anthony Poindexter and the entire Nittany Lion staff.
“I’ve got to give Coach Franklin, Coach Poindexter and the whole staff a ton of credit. They’ve been on Joey from the beginning, and they continue to show him what a high priority he is for them,” Gordon said. “They’ve done a great job all the way through. It feels like it’s been going on for a long time at this point. I’m in very frequent contact with the Penn State staff. We’ve got a good rapport and relationship going. I don’t know how else to say it other than that they’ve done a great job recruiting Joey to this point.
“The selling point Penn State has over the others is it’s an opportunity to stay close to home, play in front of families and friends. In both cases with Joey and Grayson (McKeogh), they come from very tight-knit families. And I told Penn State all along, just my two cents, that has to be their No. 1 selling point. They’ve got close-knit families who are very involved in a good way in their sons’ sports careers. And that’s a major advantage, in my opinion.”
