Penn State is known as “Linebacker University,” and a linebacker who it was once highly recruiting has entered the transfer portal.
DJ Wesolak took an official visit to Penn State in Sept. 2021, the same weekend Penn State beat Auburn before a Beaver Stadium White Out crowd.
A four-star prospect from Boonville, Missouri, Wesolak had Penn State in his top eight, but decided to stay in-state and go to Mizzou.
Wesolak redshirted his first season and didn’t see any game action in 2023, playing for a Tigers team that finished the regular-season 10-2 and ranked No. 9 by the College Football Playoff committee.
Now, he’s in the portal.
The 6-foot-3, 236-pounder is capable of playing linebacker and EDGE, which he played in high school. Wesolak reminded at least two of the coaches who recruited him of a PSU great.
“Me, Coach AZ [Alan Zemaitis] and Coach Pry have been really close with each other,” Wesolak told Rivals.com in the summer of 2021 before his official visit. “They see me as a Micah Parsons comparison. Micah played D-end all throughout high school, but as soon as he went to college, he was middle linebacker that could rush, but also had that athletic ability to cover the field. That’s how I see myself, so I love that.”
Zemaitis is still on Penn State’s staff as the Recruiting Coordinator for Personnel. Pry, who was the defensive coordinator for seven seasons, is now the head coach at Virginia Tech. A big storyline this offseason will be if Pry’s successor, Manny Diaz, stays at Penn State or if he ends up taking a head coaching job. Diaz has met with Duke for its vacancy, the Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach reported Wednesday night.
Wherever Wesolak goes, he’ll have three seasons of eligibility left.
