Penn State locks up official visit with top defensive prospect

Penn State’s official visit schedule for June continues to grow. Last week, Blue White Illustrated confirmed a handful of upcoming visits with top targets throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. That included defensive tackle Deyvid Palepale and linebacker Elijah Newby. Both players confirmed their plans to return to State College that third weekend, June 16-18.

Now another top defensive target for Penn State head coach James Franklin and his staff has confirmed his plans for an official visit in Quince Orchard edge rusher Jaylen Harvey. Listed at 6-foot-2, 250 pounds, Harvey has been a consistent visitor to State College over the past year, taking nine unofficial visits to Penn State since April 2022. That includes a trip just last week to attend the annual Blue-White Game. His official visit is scheduled for June 9-11.

Those consistent visits are a major reason why Harvey is expected to end up at Penn State. According to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, the Lions hold a 93.3 percent chance of landing his commitment. Both Sean Fitz and myself logged picks for him to end up at Penn State back in October.

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However, there’s no shortage of competition, as Harvey has earned more than 30 scholarship offers so far. Back in February, Harvey tweeted that he had already set a few official visits to Notre Dame, USC and Ohio State. The Notre Dame visit was the same weekend he now plans to see Penn State. It’s unclear when or if he’ll still go to South Bend. His official visits to USC (June 17-19) and Ohio State (June 23-25) are still expected to happen.

While no school has hosted Harvey as much as Penn State, he has been actively visiting schools this spring. According to On3’s Visit Center, Harvey has visited seven other programs since the start of 2023. He took trips to Cincinnati, Clemson, Maryland, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and USC.

According to the On3 Industry Ranking, Harvey holds a four-star rating. He’s ranked No. 340 nationally, 23rd overall at defensive end and No. 9 in Maryland for the Class of 2024.

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