Penn State sets the bar high with DL Benedict Umeh

Penn State hosted an impressive list of talent this past weekend, but defensive line prospect Benedict Umeh was easily the top prospect in attendance. Ranked No. 29 in the nation by On3, the Toronto, Canada native has the potential to be a five-star player by the time it’s all said and done. He’s also expected to play defensive tackle at the next level, which is one of Penn State’s most important positional needs.

“I came out with my dad and my personal trainer and mentor, Oral Sybblis,” Umeh said. “They were both blown away. The facilities are insane. The stadium is insane. My dad has been on two official visits now, so he kind of knows what it’s like, but he was blown away by the quality of the people there. They’re really good people, really humble. It’s a great family out there.”

Throughout his recruitment, Umeh has repeatedly made it clear that academics will be a massive part in his decision. With official visits to Wisconsin and Duke so far, as well as a trip to Stanford coming next weekend, Penn State made its case for what it can do for him off the field.

“We’ve been talking about academics a lot. If I wanted to do computer science at Penn State, it wouldn’t be an issue. We figured that stuff out,” Umeh said. “I do still need to look at a few things. They do have a really good computer engineering program at Penn State, too. Their computer science program kind of piggybacks off that, if that makes sense.

“So, I still need to talk to some computer science people there. I want to look into that a bit more, but the academics are solid. Between that and the quality of football you’re getting, there’s no better balance in Power Five football.”

New Penn State defensive line coach Deion Barnes has been as consistent as anyone so far in recruiting Umeh. That relationship has been strong since Umeh’s first visit in April.

However, learning more about why Barnes wants to coach at this level left a strong impression.

“Coach Barnes had a great story,” Umeh said. “He was telling me that, when he was in college, he was a great college player, but he wasn’t consistent. He would make great plays but didn’t always give his best effort on other plays. Looking back, he feels like that hurt him in his career and it’s a big reason why he wants to coach now, especially at Penn State. He wants to make sure his guys don’t make those same mistakes.”

Head coach James Franklin was also a mainstay throughout the visit.

“He was great the whole visit. Even the last time I was there, he’s always the same exact person. He’s got incredible energy and is a player’s coach. The biggest thing was that him and my dad really get along very well.”

Umeh was hosted by fellow Canadian, Malik Meiga. He also said he connected well with another defensive tackle in attendance, four-star prospect T.A. Cunningham.

As for what’s next, Umeh has an official visit set to Stanford this upcoming weekend. He’ll likely make a decision a week or two later.

“Out of my top five, Penn State, Stanford and Duke are probably the big three,” he said. “I need to get out to Stanford again and take that visit next week, but I did fall in love with Penn State when I visited that first time. I really wanted to get my parents around their coaches and my dad was loving it.”

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