Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1492675
M A R C H 2 0 2 3 31 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / P L A Y E R B I O S / / / / / / / J ameial Lyons was visiting Penn State in April 2022, along with his high school coach and a few teammates from Roman Catholic High in Philadelphia, when he decided it was time to end his recruitment. A four-star defensive end in the On3 Consensus, Lyons told the coaching staff that he planned to sign with the Nittany Lions. The staff was thrilled, of course, but no one was happier than Lyons' mother, Tiamika. "We called my mom, and tears were coming down her face," Lyons recalled. "I never felt a joy like that inside, knowing that I'm doing something good. "Where I'm from, I could be doing a lot of other stuff, but I'm out here chas- ing dreams, trying to provide for my family. I'm not going to lie, it brought tears to my eyes, too. It's a dream. A lot of people work for this. I'm so thankful." Lyons' path to PSU began at one of the Nittany Lions' summer camps ahead of his junior season. He turned in times of 4.8 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 4.5 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle run. Those were eye-opening numbers for an athlete who weighed 245 pounds, and Lyons received an offer from the Lions on the spot. West Virginia, Illinois and Pitt were also interested. For much of his recruit- ment, the Mountaineers topped his list. Then he had a talk with James Frank- lin in which the Nittany Lions' coach emphasized his desire to keep Pennsyl- vania's best prospects at home. "When he said that, it really clicked with me," Lyons said. "That's when I knew I was supposed to stay here." He went on to total 64 tackles and 6 sacks as a senior, helping lead Ro- man Catholic to a 9-3 record. Cahillites coach Rick Prete sees him as a differ- ence-maker at the college level. "He's a very uncommon talent," Prete said. "In my estimation — and I would say this if he was at another school — he's maybe the most slept-on recruit that I've ever been around. "He's getting attention now, sure, but I still think people don't understand the kind of athlete he is. … There's so much here for Penn State to mold. When he gets up there with those guys, he's go- ing to become an absolute monster." ■ DE | 6-5 | 250 Roman Catholic High Philadelphia Rankings Stars Nat. Pos. State On3 Consensus HHHH 269 26 4 On3 HHHH 155 17 3 ESPN HHHH — 50 8 Rivals HHHH — 28 5 247Sports HHHH — 31 4 Statistics • Totaled 115 tackles and 11 sacks during his last two seasons at Roman Catholic High, in- cluding 64 tackles and 6 sacks as a senior • Had 29 tackles and 1 sack as a sophomore at Bishop McDevitt High near Philadelphia • Finished with 27 tackles and 2 sacks as a freshman at Bishop McDevitt Notable • Served as a team captain for Roman Cath- olic as a senior, helping lead the Cahillites to a 9-3 record • Named first-team All-Catholic League as a junior and senior • Helped lift Bishop McDevitt to a Class 2A Catholic League title as freshman Recruitment • Committed to Penn State on April 22, 2022 • Picked the Lions over offers from West Vir- ginia, Temple, Nebraska, Illinois, Virginia Tech, Pitt and Maryland, among others • Recruited by defensive line coach John Scott Jr. and cornerbacks coach Terry Smith • Officially visited Penn State on June 24, 2022 2023 Projection Of the three defensive ends in Penn State's 2023 class, the 250-pound Lyons looks to be the most physically ready to see action. Whether the Lions will need much help from the newcomers is a separate question, though. They've gotten some good news in recent months, with Adisa Isaac opting to forgo the draft and fellow redshirt senior Smith Vilbert back in action in the Rose Bowl after missing the 2022 regular season for undisclosed reasons. A redshirt year for Lyons seems likely. They Said It BWI analyst Thomas Frank Carr: "Jameial Lyons is a quality prospect with many excel- lent traits. His frame, work ethic and physical tools make for tremendous upside. "That work ethic will give him a great chance to achieve that upside so long as he commits himself to focus on the details of his craft. The more work he does in that aspect before he gets to Happy Valley, the shorter that curve is." Lyons turned heads on Penn State's staff when he ran a 4.8-second 40-yard time at a summer camp prior to his junior season. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER Jameial Lyons Philadelphia edge rusher fulfills dream with PSU commitment M AT T H E R B | M A T T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M T H E LY O N S F I L E