Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1305106
EARLY RISER Oweh went into the season having played in only 17 games at Penn State but was al- ready being hailed as a potential first-round NFL Draft pick. Photo by Steve Manuel CONTROL FREAK C O V E R S T O R Y After two tantalizing years as a backup, redshirt sophomore DE Jayson Oweh aims to clamp down on opposing passers and keep Penn State's defense among the best in the Big Ten hen Bruce Feldman of The Athletic put Jayson Oweh on his "Freaks List" a few months ago, it was intended as a salute to the redshirt sophomore defensive end's extraordinary athletic prowess. Before every season, Feldman compiles a list of players who possess the kind of speed, size, strength and/or power that mark them as outliers even in locker rooms full of exceptional athletes. Oweh, with his 6-foot-5, 252-pound frame, 36.5-inch vertical leap and 4.33-second 40-yard time, easily fit that descrip- tion. Feldman even listed him ahead of teammate Micah Parsons, who was being hailed by many at the time as the premier defensive player in college football. "On a team with a lot of Freaks," Feldman wrote, "this is the most explosive one of the bunch." The compliment did not go unnoticed at Penn State, or unappre- ciated. But Oweh did take his Freaks List mention a little bit dif- ferently than perhaps it was intended. To the first-year Nittany Lion starter, the designation seemed to apply even more readily to his style of play than to his oughta- be-illegal measurables. Oweh got off to a late start in football, tak- ing up the sport as a junior at Blair Academy in New Jersey after transferring from a school that didn't have a varsity football pro- gram. As a result, he never picked up on some of the finer points of the defensive end position, relying instead on raw athleticism to chase down opposing quarterbacks. That worked pretty well; he finished his high school career with 20 sacks and 15 tackles for loss. And it continued to work pretty well in his first two seasons at Penn State; he racked up seven sacks despite playing in only 17 games and starting just one. So Oweh's conception of his own freakishness has more to do | W