Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546159
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 51 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M son of St. John's College High and Mar- quece Sharpe of Loudoun Sports Acad- emy. They have not visited Penn State yet, but both are on pace to be among the better running backs in the region for the 2028 class. Wide Receiver Pennsylvania is home to two key tar- gets on opposite sides of the state. Out- side of Philadelphia, La Salle receiver Owen Johnson has already earned a spot in the Rivals300, coming in at No. 241 nationally, No. 36 among receivers and seventh in the state. Despite play- ing alongside five-star prospect Joey O'Brien last season, Johnson totaled 73 receptions for 988 yards and 13 touch- downs. Now he holds more than 20 of- fers, with Duke, Notre Dame, Penn State and Syracuse being the four schools he's visited so far. There's an even higher-ranked pros- pect on the other side of the state in Pittsburgh native Jaden Jones. Listed at No. 77 overall nationally, Jones could play on either side of the ball, which is why he's the third-ranked athlete in the country and No. 2 prospect in the state. As a sophomore, Jones led Avonworth to a PIAA Class AAA state champion- ship, totaling more than 1,000 receiving yards and adding 5 interceptions while playing safety. New Jersey also has plenty of talent at the position, including Glassboro stand- out Mekhi Parker. The four-star player is ranked No. 86 nationally, No. 12 at the position and No. 5 among Garden State prospects. Parker has visited State Col- lege three times, most recently in March. David Forster of St. Joseph's Regional in North Jersey and Zehkiy DeJesus of St. Augustine Prep in Richland are also ex- pected to be heavily recruited. Tight End Penn State has extended offers to 10 tight ends so far in the class, but the early trends point to two players in particu- lar that Nittany Lion fans need to know: New Jersey native Quinn Weber and Ten- nessee prospect Gregory Kirwan. Listed at 6-5, 210 pounds, Weber has already visited Penn State twice this year, attending a spring practice session in April followed by a second visit in June. A three-star prospect, Weber has an offer sheet that rivals most four-star players and higher, with more than two dozen programs already in pursuit, including Ohio State, where he visited a few days after his trip to State College in June. Kirwan may not have as many offers as Weber, but he's on pace to rocket up the rankings, adding 17 offers in just the past few months. The 6-4, 230-pound tight end also visited Penn State in June. He told reporters in mid-July that Flor- ida, Florida State, Ohio State and Ten- nessee have been standing out early. Offensive Line More than 30 offensive linemen have claimed offers from the Nittany Lions so far. That group is spread out from coast to coast, but there are a few names to circle early on. In Pennsylvania, both Nick Ander- son of Kiski Area in Vandergrift and Ty Winn of Monsignor Bonner in Philadelphia are already top targets. Anderson is the son of Bill Anderson, who played for the Nittany Lions in the mid-1990s. He's ranked No. 250 nationally and ninth in Pennsylvania, and Penn State should be considered the early favorite. At 6-3, 260 pounds, he projects as an interior lineman at the college level. Winn holds a three-star rating from Rivals but is a four-star prospect ac- cording to the two other major recruiting websites. The 6-7, 255-pound offensive tackle has a loaded offer sheet featuring the likes of Florida, Florida State, Geor- gia, Ohio State, Texas and Texas A&M. Winn has visited Penn State twice in 2026, but he's also been to a dozen other schools, making him one of the more coveted linemen in the region. Beyond those two, Penn State is also off to a good start with Carter Barrett of Receiver Jaden Jones is listed by Rivals as the No. 77 overall prospect nationally and the No. 2 player in Pennsylvania. As a sophomore, he surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for an Avonworth team that claimed the PIAA Class AAA state title. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER