4-star EDGE Jaylen Harvey announces top five schools

Potomac (Md.) Quince Orchard four-star EDGE Jaylen Harvey revealed a top five of Florida, Maryland, Penn State, Tennessee and USC on Monday. He is announcing his commitment on July 4.

Harvey is the No. 353 overall prospect and No. 23 EDGE in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 10 player in Maryland.

According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, the Nittany Lions have a commanding lead for Harvey’s commitment at 91.6%. He took an official visit to State College on the weekend of June 3.

“I like Penn State a lot,” Harvey told On3’s Chad Simmons on Jan. 9. “My interest is very high in them. My relationship with the coaches, how they make me feel like a top recruit and the way they develop edge rushers have them up there. The way I feel there and how they coach guys like me up makes Penn State a program I would love to be a part of.”

There are two expert predictions in for Harvey to choose Penn State. One of them is from Ryan Snyder of BlueWhiteIllustrated.

“Penn State finds itself in the top five with a handful of quality defensive end prospects,” Snyder wrote on May 25. “But when you try to predict who’s going to sign with the Nittany Lions, you realize just how important Maryland defensive end Jaylen Harvey is.

“… All of that is why I feel like Harvey has to be part of this list. He’s the one defensive end who has both consistently visited and has been fairly open about his recruitment. His official visit will be his 10th visit to Penn State. We also know that his mom is high on the staff and how they’ve gone about recruiting Jaylen. Penn State has to lock him up.”

The 6-foot-2, 250-pound pass rusher has already taken official visits to Florida (June 9) and USC (June 16). Meanwhile, he will be at Maryland this weekend for an official.

“I just want to talk more with the coaching staff about what’s going on and learn the defensive scheme more,” Harvey told Scott Schrader of WeAreSC on May 18 about USC. “Last time I was there, coach (Roy) Manning and me watched film and I’d like to do more of that this time. But this time I’d also like to feel the connection with the coaches and players.”