Recruit Rewind: Detailing OL Garrett Sexton's path to Penn State

Penn State will kick off spring practice in just over two weeks from now. With a little over a week remaining in the February dead period, plus spring break from March 3-9, head coach James Franklin and his staff have just a few more weeks to focus on their current roster before on-campus recruiting starts up again.

With that in mind, we’re looking back on Penn State’s Class of 2024 these next few weeks, profiling all 25 players. Today, we shift our focus to one of Penn State’s top-ranked players.

Garrett Sexton
Offensive Tackle
6-6, 260
Arrowhead
Hartland, Wisc.

Rankings	Stars	National	Position	State
On3 Industry	****	147	10	2
On3	****	76	8	1
ESPN	***	N/R	40	4
Rivals	***	N/R	68	8
247Sports	****	173	15	1

Statistics

• Helped pave the way for more than 2,500 yards of offense in 2023.

Notable

• First-Team All-State in 2023
• Played quarterback his freshman and sophomore seasons
• Played basketball for two seasons

Recruitment

• Committed to Penn State on April 24, 2023
• Recruited by Phil Trautwein
• Picked Penn State over Iowa, Minnesota and Oklahoma
• Officially visited on June 9, 2023

Projection: The early feedback on Sexton has been very positive. Although he’s listed at 260 pounds, we’re told he’s already well over that and is closer to 280 pounds, if not more. He’s only been playing offensive tackle for two years, so he’ll need time to work on technique and other fundamentals, but he’s a high-ceiling prospect that has rare athleticism at his size. If it all clicks, Sexton could be special. For now, we expect a redshirt season in 2024.

Arrowhead Union head coach Matt Harris: “Garrett is an athletic unicorn. He combines his incredible length and size with great athleticism. Garrett has a Division I work ethic! Penn State has a diamond being polished and in a few years he will be blinging!”

Get to know Penn State OL Garrett Sexton

Penn State set out to find length at the offensive tackle position in 2024 and that’s exactly what position coach Phil Trautwein was able to find in Wisconsin native Garrett Sexton.

But at 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, Sexton is far from just a big body. As an underclassman, he actually played quarterback at Arrowhead High School before his coaches decided to try him out at offensive tackle his junior year. Despite only weighing about 230 pounds at the time, Sexton’s combination of size and athleticism immediately grabbed the eyes of scouts.

“Just looking at him physically, he looks phenomenal,” said On3 Scouting Director Charles Power. “I think there are just so many positive indicators on him relative to his size and athleticism. I think as he continues to add weight and strength, everything we’ve seen projects that he’ll maintain his athleticism, too, which is gonna be really important. So I think he’s got such high upside.”

After picking up an offer from Penn State at the end of February, Sexton quickly built a strong relationship with Trautwein. That led to his first visit on March 30, and by the time he left campus, he made it clear that the Lions were in a great position. Minnesota and Oklahoma would also host Sexton for visits in April, but by the time he left Norman, Okla., on April 22, Sexton knew he was ready to decide. 

Link: Josh Johnson updates his recruitment after locking in Penn State official visit

“Honestly, I just knew it was going to be Penn State,” Sexton said. “I feel like I’ve known that for a few weeks now, so why wait? We flew home from Oklahoma [April 23] and I had a talk with my parents about everything. We all just felt good about it, so I reached out to [Penn State’s] coaches and asked to get on a group call with them all. Once we got on the group call, I just let them know everything I love about Penn State and committed right there. They were all super-hyped for me. It was a great call.”

Following his junior season, Sexton took his game to an even higher level in 2023, earning first-team all-state honors. He ended up finishing as the second-ranked player in Penn State’s class, according to On3, ranking No. 147 nationally and 10th overall at offensive tackle. 

Already on campus, Sexton has been working hard to add weight. He’ll need time to continue working on his technique, but there’s no denying his potential.

“When you add in his athleticism, his work ethic and all of those things, there’s no reason he can’t be an NFL Draft pick if he’s developed the right way,” said Arrowhead head coach Matt Harris. “I really believe you could be hearing his name one day.