Many Penn State players chose a DE teammate to ‘break out’ in 2019

Penn State has loads of talent in its football program.

James Franklin has done a great job in general with the Nittany Lions since taking over, but he’s done an even better job on the recruiting trail.

RELATED: Penn State gets commitment from elite 2020 RB

Every season, teams have players that become breakout stars.

Last year for Penn State, one could argue that defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos was the breakout player. Everybody in the B1G now knows about Gross-Matos, especially after his 20 tackles for loss and eight sacks a season ago as just a sophomore.

But, who is the next Nittany Lion to break out?

The Centre Daily Times did their own research on the matter and asked a coordinator along with 11 Penn State players to pick someone who will break out in 2019. Of course, players couldn’t choose themselves.

Of the 12, five chose DE Jayson Oweh. No other Nittany Lion had more than one vote.

Last season, as a freshman, Oweh appeared in just four games — and redshirted. Oweh is a 4-star prospect and top-100 recruit from the class of 2018 according to 247Sports.

Here are what Oweh’s teammates had to say about him:

“Coming off his redshirt year, just a freak athlete in the weight room,” said LB Jan Johnson. “Freakishly athletic. He’s more comfortable with the defense. I think he’s going to have a great year.”

DT Robert Windsor: “I’d pick Jayson Oweh because people don’t know about him yet. He has freakish ability. You’ll see first game.”

Kevin Cunningham

Kevin covers Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.