New Penn State commit Jven Williams opens up about decision to join Nittany Lions

Penn State’s Class of 2023 has taken another major step in the right direction.

Offensive lineman Jven Williams, from Wyomissing, Pa., made it no secret throughout the process that he was very high on the Nittany Lions. Visiting three times since the summer, it felt like only a matter of time until he joined the class.

That became official earlier today.

“I always told them that I really wanted to go there, but I didn’t officially tell them until this morning,” Williams said. “I FaceTimed them earlier today. Coach [Phil Trautwein] and Coach [James] Franklin were going crazy, jumping around, all pumped up. That was just another thing that made me think, ‘yeah, this is definitely my home.’ They were super excited and said that I’m a big piece to their puzzle. I really appreciate all of them.”

What we didn’t know is that Williams almost committed previously. After camping with Penn State’s coaches in the summer, he earned his offer while attending the game against Villanova at the end of September. Williams said he almost committed before leaving University Park that day.

“The first game I went to, when they offered me against Villanova, I almost committed while I was leaving. Honest to God,” Williams said. “Me and Coach Franklin talked it out, decided I should wait, see some schools and see how I felt.

“So, I went and visited Pitt and I loved Pitt. Loved the area, but for me, I wanted to stay close home. If you’re from Eastern PA, you want to go to Penn State. Penn State is where it’s at. So, I’m really excited to be part of the family. I always knew throughout the recruiting process that Penn State was where I wanted to go. I wanted to see other places, but Penn State was the school for me. So, I feel comfortable calling it now. This is where I knew was home.”

Williams was primarily recruited by Trautwein, who’s steadily putting together a very strong offensive line class for 2023. Williams is one of his best commitments yet.

The 6-foot-4, 290-pound interior lineman earned just shy of 20 scholarship offers, most of which have come in the past few months. Notable programs included Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pitt, Tennessee, USC and West Virginia.

“Coach Traut was a huge factor for me,” Williams said. “He spent a lot of time texting with me and checking up on me. He came into my school multiple times. It’s just a really strong relationship. It’s really been daily for me. I’m always getting a text or a call from someone on the staff. It’s love every single day from them and it’s hard to say no to something like that.”

Link: Breaking down Penn State’s 2023 class following Jven Williams’ commitment

In addition to Williams, Penn State has three other offensive linemen committed now. He joins Alex Birchmeier, Joshua Miller and Anthony Donkoh, all of whom reside in Virginia. Birchmeier and Miller also project as interior linemen, with Donkoh likely playing tackle.

Williams said he was steadily speaking with multiple commits over the past couple of months.

“Those guys did a great job staying in touch with me, texting me, letting me know that Penn State was the place to be,” Williams said. “It’s kind of cool now that I’m committed and I can call those guys my soon-to-be teammates.

“Joey Schlaffer lives like 15 minutes away from me, so I see him during basketball and football games all the time. It’s really cool having someone like Joey close to me locally, someone I can really bond with.”

Williams plans to participate in track this spring. He threw shot put and discus last season, and his performance in both grabbed the attention of many schools, including Penn State.

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 last season for shot put, and he hopes to improve on that this spring.

Williams is now the second-ranked player in Penn State’s Class of 2023, ranking No. 87 overall in the On3 Consensus Team Rankings. Our scouts at On3 rank him even higher at No. 41 nationally. He’s the top-ranked player in Pennsylvania in both rankings.

Williams also has an NIL Valuation of $10,200. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.