On3 Director of Scouting: "Penn State is pacing to sign one of the best offensive line classes in the country"

Penn State football’s Class of 2023 received a major boast Thursday, as future Nittany Lion offensive lineman Jven Williams was bumped to a five-star prospect by On3.

Williams has been a popular topic this month, as he only just committed 19 days ago on Feb. 5. He’s the fourth offensive lineman to join the class already this year. The other three are all Virginia natives: Alex Birchmeier, Joshua Miller and Anthony Donkoh.

Miller and Donkoh currently hold three-star ratings. Both will get an opportunity to impress our scouts when camps begin in the region next month. Under Armour will come to Baltimore March 27, and we hope to see both there. Birchmeier, however, is already considered one of the nation’s best offensive linemen, ranking No. 38 nationally and No. 3 at his position. He and Williams – who will officially be updated numerically on Monday – give the Nittany Lions the best offensive line duo in the country so far.

“Penn State is pacing to sign one of the best offensive line classes in the country,” said On3 Director of Scouting Charles Power. “Jven Williams and Alex Birchmeier give the Nittany Lions two of the top five or six offensive line prospects in what looks to be a strong cycle at the position. The duo creates a strong foundation for Penn State’s class with several months left in the cycle.”

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One thing that’s grabbed the attention of our scouts is the success Williams has had in track & field. Last spring, his best shot put was 59 feet, 3 inches, with his best discus throw being 176 feet, 2 inches. Williams won the bronze at the PIAA track & field championships in 2021 for shot put. He plans to improve on that this spring.

To have that kind of success in throwing events highlights his core strength, which has Penn State and everyone else excited.

“We’ve been high on Jven Williams since the fall, but he continues to ascend as a prospect in our eyes,” Power said. “Williams oozes upside. He’s an easy, natural mover on his junior video and is outstanding at the second level. He also has top notch length and play strength. He backs up the explosive athleticism and strength with some very impressive numbers in the shot put.

“Add in the fact that he’s still developing and won’t turn 17 until late August and we’re talking about a prospect with a very high ceiling. Williams could potentially develop into an offensive tackle depending on how his pass set technique comes along, which would give him some added positional versatility.”

Link: Penn State in the mix to sign elite linebacker group in 2023

Just like Williams, Birchmeier also excels in another sport that helps his potential as an offensive lineman. This past week, he won the VHSL Class 4 state wrestling tournament for the second consecutive year at heavyweight.

“Wrestling goes hand-in-hand with football,” Birchmeier told us earlier this year. “It helps you stay low, it helps with leg drive. When you’re wrestling, you really feel your opponent’s weight shifting, and that’s great for offensive line play. It helps you understand where guys are going, where your hands need to be, especially on reach blocks and stuff like that. It’s been a big help for me as an offensive lineman.”

Power made it clear that he’s also been very impressed with Birchmeier’s development.

“Alex Birchmeier has one of the higher floors among offensive linemen in the 2023 cycle,” he said. “We’ve had him identified as one of the top prospects at the position in the 2023 cycle for well over a year. He has good size, length and some of the better movement skills among interior linemen we’ve watched. That, combined with his technical ability and understanding of leverage makes for a prospect who should be in the mix to contribute early at Penn State. Like Williams, Birchmeier is a standout two-sport athlete as a back-to-back state champion wrestler, which certainly doesn’t hurt.”

On3 plans to announce additional updates to its Class of 2023 rankings next week.