Penn State Football’s Top 2026 Target Joey O’Brien Details His Recruiting Process
Penn State Football fans should get to know the name Joey O’Brien.
The La Salle College High School player is one of, if not the most important recruit for the Nittany Lions in the 2026 cycle.
According to ON3’s Industry Rankings O’Brien is the 87th best player in the country and second best in the state of Pennsylvania. Recently NittanyCentral was able to chat with O’Brien.
In regards to his recruitment, O’Brien is not sure which school leads for him.
“To be honest, I don’t really know [who leads],” O’Brien told NittanyCentral, during a wide-ranging conversation. “It’s just, I keep going on all these visits and I just keep liking everybody even more …”
Over the weekend O’Brien visited Clemson and Ohio State. He also plans to officially visit Penn State, Clemson, Notre Dame, Oregon, Tennessee and Ohio State this summer.
Penn State would probably like to see that official visit moved back to a later date, but O’Brien tells NittanyCentral that Penn State being the closest school also gives them flexibility for when he can visit.
As things stand right now, O’Brien will visit Penn State for spring practice on Easter weekend and also make his way over to Happy Valley for an official visit on the weekend of May 16th.
With all of those suitors, how will O’Brien choose which school to go to? Well, he has a good method for that.
“I’m just gonna have to do like a spreadsheet and stuff,” O’Brien explains. “Just like write out the pros and cons and like, what really matters at the end of the day.”
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The Best in PA stay in PA
The best in PA stay in PA.
This is a phrase Penn State Football head coach James Franklin has repeatedly pitched to recruiting targets and fans alike frequently throughout his tenure at Penn State.
When it comes to Joey O’Brien, the message from Franklin is no different.
“His [Franklin’s] big motto is ‘the best in PA stay in PA’. So I feel like that [is] cool.” O’Brien said.
Anthony Poindexter also has a message for O’Brien.
“I have a really close relationship with Coach Dex,” O’Brien points out. “And he just tells me all the time how he would love to coach me and just like, that’s what they do. They develop safeties… They produce safeties to the NFL.”
This message is one that rings true. Currently, Penn State has four NFL safeties. The most recent Penn State safety product, Ji’Ayir Brown, who plays for the 49ers, had an interception in Super Bowl 58.
Another Penn State coach who knows a thing or two about safeties is new defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles.
Knowles has been an active part of and steady presence in O’Brien’s recruitment.
“So he came to my school a couple times,” O’Brien said of Knowles. “And then I also talk to him on the phone. He’s really cool, I like him. He runs a good defense, and he’s smart with how he does each thing.”
Undoubtedly, O’Brien feels like a priority at all of the schools he visits.
But what will Penn State have to do in order to land O’Brien?
“I don’t know, I think it’s gonna take a lot,” O’Brien says. “Like, [I’d] just like for me to keep building that relationship with all of their coaches. Just, if they keep on winning, I wanna be part of a winning program, so if they keep on winning, they’re gonna have a good shot.”
La Salle – Penn State Pipeline
Back in the class of 2022 Penn State took linebacker turned edge rusher, Abdul Carter.
Penn State getting Carter turned out to be a program-changing move.
As Head Coach Brett Gordon heads into his second year as the head football coach at La Salle, he aims to continue building that pipeline with the Nittany Lions.
“I would say the relationship with La Salle and Penn State, currently, is in a really good place.” Gordon recently told NittanyCentral. “I’ve gotten to know Coach Franklin pretty well over the last couple of months … I want him to know that I value the relationship of La Salle being an in-state school, and I think there’s a mutually beneficial relationship here.
“Ideally, we’d love to create a pipeline of student-athletes that can continue their football careers at Penn State. I mean, I would say we have as many as six players in our program that I could see potentially being Penn State caliber football players.”
Photo courtesy of Brett Gordon.
It remains to be seen whether O’Brien winds up wearing the Blue and White, but it isn’t lost on him what Gordon has built at La Salle that he has been a part of elevating in recent years.
“I would say it’s a big honor,” O’Brien said. “Because, just at La Salle, they’re always know as one of the best teams in the state. Like if you ask anybody about La Salle they’d be like ‘they’re really good. They’re really coached well, they’re just respectful, great young men.’ I feel like that is what our program is.
“And then to have a coach like Coach Gordon now, whose done it at every level. He played D1 football, he coached D1 football. He coached at a lot of different places. So it just shows you what you gotta do to get to the next level and I feel like that’s huge.”
O’Brien said in regards to Coach Gordon, who was a Villanova football standout and All-American. Gordon also takes pride in how he handles his program and the decisions the players in his program have to make.
Stars like Gavin Sidwar, Grayson McKeogh, Joey O’Brien, and others have to make the decision of where to go to school next.
“They’re all in different ways, different times, going through this for the first time,” Gordon said, of guiding his players through their recruiting processes. “So just trying to help as best I can. You know, present scenarios and discussions I have with coaches and all that. At the end of the day the kids have to make their own decision for themselves.”
What is next for O’Brien
This coming weekend, O’Brien will head down to Dallas to play in OT7’s 7 on 7 tournament. O’Brien plays on Torrey Smith’s Level82 team. Level82 boasts a lot of Pennsylvania talent. Players like O’Brien, Messiah Mickens, Gavin Sidwar, Elias Coke and others all play for Level82.
O’Brien will continue to take spring visits before his official visits. He will head to Penn State and Oregon later this month as he continues to go through the recruiting process.
As for the future, O’Brien will look to use that spreadsheet, narrow his list down, and make a decision before he plays his senior year at La Salle.
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‘Always Been Penn State in The Front’ No. 1 WR Khalil Taylor Talks Nittany Lions Commitment
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Penn State Football Recruiting: ’26 Quarterback Peyton Falzone Breaks Down His Nittany Lions Visit
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Purdy was born and raised in central Ohio and served for four years writing for his high school's newsletter. Currently studying Biblical Studies at Lancaster Bible College in Pennsylvania, Ian has been a lifelong Nittany Lion fan.