La Salle’s Joey O’Brien Joey O’Brien 6'3" | 185 lbs | DB/WR La Salle College | 2026 State PA , who has been heavily linked to Notre Dame since his March 17th offer from the program, continues to prove what I have said for over a year. This is one of the best recruits in all of Pennsylvania, his recruitment is finally catching up.

Since O’Brien’s Notre Dame offer (March)…

March- Syracuse, Virginia Tech

April – Penn State, Mizzou, Florida State

O’Brien is still seeing his stock sore with May withholding offers extended to O’Brien out of Indiana, Boston College, Illinois, and Michigan. Many in recruiting circles have rumbled about Michigan potentially pulling interest away from Notre Dame who, again, stands as the current leader for the two-way starter. Time will tell.

Recently ranked inside the classes Top 25, O’Brien’s a name I’ve sent to college coaches for over a year now. Finally, after seeing how special a sophomore season O’Brien put forth on tape, after seeing his transcripts, after seeing him on the ball court, teams are finally starting to align themselves with my early grade. Duke and Toledo called and offered the young man in recent weeks, more O’s likely to come. I can finally stop pounding on this door. Will star in 7v7 events this offseason, worth a watch.

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• these two sophomores are looking well beyond their years.
• I’ve been following them both for some time, so I’m hardly surprised, yet the two are making strides and developing quicker than I had imagined, largely in part because they don’t really have a choice, La Salle needs these two to step up into crucial roles.
• John-Patrick Oates is currently second on the team in terms of receiving yards, racking up 150+ yards in three games on nine catches, while also catching one of Gavin Sidwar Gavin Sidwar 6'3" | 195 lbs | QB La Salle College | 2026 State PA ‘s many TD passes.
• Joey O’Brien has an interception to his name, one that I saw live against Malvern Prep down the shore. PBUs, big-time coverage stops littered throughout the game, tape too. Although O’Brien exists as a soon-to-be shutdown corner, in the game I attended, he came down with multiple catches in huge moments to help La Salle stay in a game late. He might not light up a stat sheet, yet his overall skillset suggests he’s more than capable of doing so.

Ton of hype around sophomore Joey O’Brien Joey O’Brien 6'3" | 185 lbs | DB/WR La Salle College | 2026 State PA , deserved hype I might add.

6’3, 170 pounds, projecting to play in the La Salle secondary. Sporting a 3.8 GPA, this kid is on a fast track to big things, both in recruiting and team role. Another key component to Level 82’s success this offseason, much like Julian McFadden Julian McFadden 5'11" | 170 lbs | ATH La Salle College | 2025 State PA . The young man is already on the board of many prominent colleges along the east coast, we are all excited to see him cash in on an exciting year start to finish.

A top 50 ranking, O’Brien’s Hudl doesn’t provide a seasonal tape, much like John-Patrick Oates John-Patrick Oates 6'3" | 220 lbs | LB/TE La Salle College | 2026 State PA . I’ve seen enough from the kid this offseason, as well as through clips on Hudl, to suggest that O’Brien could be one of the better defensive backs in the city of Philadelphia. I’m willing to throw his name in that mix. We’ll see if I’m right or not.