Recruit Rewind: Detailing DE Jaylen Harvey's path to Penn State

Penn State football has broken for spring break this week, with the start of spring practices now just a bit more than a week away. Among its new participants, defensive end Jaylen Harvey will work to establish a footing as one of the Nittany Lions’ Class of 2024 enrollees.

Keeping with our series of profiles identifying the program’s newest members, today, we’ll recap Harvey’s path to becoming a Nittany Lion.

Jaylen Harvey
Defensive end
6-2 | 266 pounds
Quince Orchard
Gaithersburg, Md.

Rankings	Stars	National	Position	State
On3 Industry	****	378	37	11
On3	****	N/R	40	10
ESPN	****	N/R	25	15
Rivals	****	N/R	22	13
247Sports	***	N/R	34	16

Statistics

• Made 13 sacks with nine stops behind the line of scrimmage as a senior captain during Quince Orchard’s 11-1 campaign.

Notable

• First-team all-state selection in Maryland’s Class 4A.
• Helped lead Quince Orchard to a 39-game winning streak, including back-to-back unbeaten campaigns as a sophomore and junior.
• A Big 33 selection.

Recruitment

• Committed to Penn State on October 16, 2023.
• Recruited by defensive ends coach Deion Barnes.
• Picked Penn State over Southern Cal and Maryland. Other offers included Florida, Texas, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Florida State, among many others.
• Enrolled at Penn State for the spring semester.

Projection

In the absence of likely early-round NFL Draft selections Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac, even with Abdul Carter’s position change, defensive end should be a position ripe for competition at Penn State this offseason. Pushing his weight up early in his enrollment with the Nittany Lions, Harvey will have, at minimum, an opportunity to compete in the same vein as Jameial Lyons last season to make an immediate impression. 

BWI analyst Thomas Frank Carr: “The Nittany Lions value many things on the defensive line, including length and explosiveness. Harvey has those qualities, but he also brings something a bit different to the table. The Quince Orchard defensive lineman has extensive experience playing on the interior for his team over the last two years. He’s played three-technique, edge rusher, and played both the run and the pass from multiple positions. Harvey is nearly college-sized for his position despite his 6-2 frame.”

Get to know Penn State DE Jaylen Harvey

The choices for Jaylen Harvey, one of the nation’s top edge rushers in the Class of 2024, were distinct late in his recruitment. Offered by dozens of the top programs in college football, he narrowed his options specifically down to Penn State, Florida, Maryland, and Southern Cal, nearing a final decision. In successive weekends last summer, he took official visits to see for himself each program’s strengths and weaknesses, setting up an opportunity to put his recruitment to rest.

Then, he held off. 

With Florida dropping off his list in August, Harvey waited to see how each program performed. And, with former Quince Orchard defensive end Chop Robinson flourishing with the Nittany Lions, the relationship-building already firmly founded at Penn State only furthered. 

Leaning on his bonds with head coach James Franklin and Deion Barnes, the connections paid dividends when Harvey officially selected the Nittany Lions on Oct. 16. Putting to rest a captivating recruitment, Harvey’s journey to Penn State was one Quince Orchard head coach John Kelley understood.

“Obviously, Demeioun Robinson was there, and he’s one of our guys from before. So, I think starting out, that carried some weight,” said Kelley. “But other than that, they just did a great job recruiting him. They were consistent. That was a big thing; he really liked it every time he went up there.”

At just three hours from Penn State’s campus, Harvey had ample opportunity to make sure. He visited 12 times through the course of his recruitment, all while developing into a versatile, excellent prospect. 

Described as having an unbelievable first step off the ball, those twitchy movements were complemented by a developing physicality that hasn’t stopped since his sophomore year at Quince Orchard. Adding another two inches and 45 pounds in his last couple of years of high school, Harvey has continued that process upon his enrollment at Penn State for the spring semester. 

“He’s an elite pass rusher. He’s relentless. That guy is going to be very, very fun to watch in the upcoming years,” said Alan Zemaitis, recruiting coordinator for Penn State. “When you talk about a natural pass rusher, he is that. When you’re talking about having a dog mentality, he is that. And when you’re talking about a guy that cares everything about ball, is not worried about the off the field distractions, he is that. 

“That’s the reason why he didn’t go to USC. He came to Penn State. It’s because we’re about football here. We’re about academics here. And we’re going to set your life up with a great foundation. That’s why he came to Penn State.”