Penn State adds defensive lineman Yvan Kemajou to Class of 2025
Penn State has picked up another defenisve line commitment for its Class of 2025 Wednesday from Maryland native Yvan Kemajou.
A three-star prospect according to On3’s Industry Rankings, Kemajou picked up an offer from the Nittany Lions late last year in December 2023. Listed at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, he’s primarily played defensive end but is expected to grow into a defensive tackle at the college level. He totaled three visits to Penn State over that stretch, including just this past weekend for the Lasch Bash Barbecue.
“We all already know how great Penn State is football-wise, so I feel like that was one of the obvious reasons,” Kemajou said. “But when I went there for my [official] visit, I really saw how much they cared about education and how much they stress being a true student-athlete. They make sure their players get a lot of support. I thought that was great.
“But also, later in the process, after I visited, they reached out a lot. They were always making sure my family had every question answered. They did everything they could to show that Penn State was the right school for me. I really appreciated the effort they showed.”
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Kemajou ended up taking six official visits total, beginning with a trip to Northwestern in mid-May. He followed that up with trips to Penn State (May 31 to June 2), Rutgers, Duke, Indiana and Virginia Tech. In the end, two schools pushed the Nittany Lions the most.
“My top three came down to Penn State, Virginia Tech and Rutgers,” Kemajou said. “During the last month, I really made sure I was having different meetings with each of those schools. We were asking any remaining questions that we had.
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“Tech and Rutgers both showed a lot of love. It was definitely a hard decision, I’ll say that. Penn State was always up there for me, don’t get me wrong, but Virginia Tech and Rutgers gave them a run for their money.”
The consistency that Penn State defensive line coach Deion Barnes and head coach James Franklin showed throughout his recruitment also played a major role in this decision.
“He really explained everything that’s good about Penn State for me, like sending people to the league and how much they care about academics,” Kemajou said about Franklin. “We really liked the academics part. They have great football, that’s obvious, but they really care about academics, too. We love that.”
Penn State is now up to 22 commitments in its Class of 2025. The Nittany Lions currently hold commitments from a handful of edge rushers, including Jayden Woods, Dayshaun Burnett and Cortez Harris. All three are considered four-star prospects in the Industry Rankings. Kemajou now joins Miami prospect Randy Adirika as the two interior defensive line commits in the class.
