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Top Penn State target Joey O'Brien cuts list to six

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One of Penn State’s top overall targets in the Class of 2026 has narrowed his focus ahead of official visit season. Glenside (Pa.) LaSalle College four-star safety Joey O’Brien cut his list to six schools on Thursday evening. 

O’Brien told On3 that Clemson, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State and Tennessee are standing out at this point. O’Brien will visit Oregon for the first time this weekend. He has summer official visits set to all except Michigan, and also had previously scheduled an official visit to Ohio State. The Buckeyes, however, did not make the list. 

This spring, he has balanced playing 7-on-7 with visiting potential suitors. O’Brien went to Michigan, Notre Dame and Clemson in March and hopes to see his other finalists before his round of official visits are scheduled to begin in May. 

Notre Dame currently leads on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, but there are several visits to go. As of now, Penn State will get O’Brien’s first official visit on the weekend of May 16. He’s set to see Clemson on May 30, Notre Dame is scheduled for June 3, Oregon for June 6, Tennessee for June 13 and Ohio State for June 20. That schedule is subject to change, but O’Brien plans on making at least some of those trips before making a decision. 

“I want to take my official visits and decide after those,” he said in January. “We still need to have conversations about things that haven’t been talked about yet. Until I have all the information I need, I won’t be able to make a decision.”

O’Brien is familiar with Penn State

O’Brien has been to Penn State six times during the process, most recently for the Nittany Lions’ home finale against Maryland back in November. He’s a top of the board target for Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter. 

“Obviously, it was an awesome environment. A lot of energy in the stadium and I always enjoy being around the staff,” O’Brien said. “Coach DJ Bryant spent a lot of time with us. He played with Torrey [Smth] on the Ravens, so that gives us a lot to talk about. It was great spending time with coach [Terry] Smith and coach [Anthony Poindexter]. I really connect well with those guys. Coach [James] Franklin made time to see me before the game, too. His message to me was, ‘You’re staying home and coming here.’ I appreciate how much he wants me to be a part of it.”

The 6-foot-4, 180-pound O’Brien is coming off of a dominant junior season on both sides of the ball, in which he recorded 36 tackles, 13 pass breakups and an interception. On offense, he had 68 catches for 1,029 yards and 12 touchdowns.

He’s a four-star prospect by all four recruiting services and checks in as the No. 69 overall prospect nationally by the On3 Industry rankings. O’Brien is the No. 2 prospect in Pennsylvania in the Class of 2026 and the nation’s No. 2 athlete. He was On3’s Saturday MVP at the Overtime OT7 league over the weekend in Dallas. 

The La Salle College blue-chipper Joey O’Brien continues to make his case as a five-star prospect, picking off four passes in two games, and now has nine interceptions in eight OT7 league games. He’s instinctive, explosive and sure-handed, and when he takes it from you, he’s a threat to score. Two of his interceptions on Saturday were pick-sixes. O’Brien has a knack for jumping slant routes, but he’s also very rangy when playing in deep coverage.
-On3’s Steve Wiltfong

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