Like many recruiting blue-chips, Abraham Sesay was shocked when Penn State fired James Franklin.
The four-star EDGE rusher from Downingtown East High School in Exton, Pennsylvania, had heard the rumors following Penn State’s shocking loss to Northwestern Oct. 11, but didn’t believe Penn State would make the switch until it happened.
Despite the change, Penn State’s still in play for the No. 3 overall player in Pennsylvania from the 2027 Class and the No. 47 overall player in America per 247Sports’ composite rankings.
“As a PA guy, everybody thinks about Penn State when they think of Pennsylvania,” Sesay told Nittany Sports Now. “So a really good, prestigious program, amazing academics, everything across the board. So they were high on my board, and even after the change, I still see very highly of Penn State. I still respect them, and I still see their… they’re still a great program.”
WHERE PSU STANDS
So, where does PSU stand in Sesay’s recruitment now?
Well, he’s still playing the field, with schools such as Alabama, Duke, Nebraska, Ohio State, Ole Miss and Syracuse also in the mix.
One thing Penn State has going for it is that Sesay has visited PSU more than (four times) more than any other school.
He first visited during a spring practice, then went to a summer camp, then the annual Lasch Bash BBQ and, most recently, visited the team’s White Out game against Oregon Sept. 27.
Sesay is well aware of the EDGE rushers DL coach Deion Barnes— who he described as a “great coach” and “amazing person– has helped put in the NFL– Chop Robinson, Adisa Isaac, Abdul Carter and, soon, Dani Dennis-Sutton– and knows of Barnes’ recruiting presence on the eastern side of Pennsylvania.
The communication with Sesay and the Penn State coaching and recruiting staff has been limited over the past two weeks, but the conversations they’ve had have been good.
“Just really staying positive,” he said. “Keeping the same attitudes, keeping the same 1-0 mentality and kind of just letting the recruits know, letting me know that everything’s ok, everything still stands, and they’re still positive and they still have hope. That’s kind of been their message over the last couple of weeks.”
‘I’M NOT GOING TO STOP’
So what makes Sesay one of the top high school edge rushers in the country?
“My motor,” he said.
“I’m not going to stop,” he said. “All four quarters, I’m all full-go. I’m not going to stop until that whistle blows, so that’s really something that I use a lot and that I take pride in is my motor and giving 100% effort. That’s something you can’t teach, and that’s something not everybody can have.”
As far as areas of improvement, Sesay is focused on his pad level, which he feels is essential because of his height (6-foot-5.5).
There are plenty of EDGE rushers Sesay watches, both at the NFL and college level.
Brian Burns, Nik Bonitto and, of course, Abdul Carter are among the pros he watches.
At the college level, he admires South Carolina’s Dylan Stewart is somebody he admires.
But Sesay is striving to be the first Abraham Sesay, and he told NSN what he’s looking for in a head coach to help him reach his full potential.
“His intentions for his players,” Sesay said. “For development. If the coach wants to know the players and cares about the players, not just on the football field, but outside of the football field. It’s one thing to be a coach and one thing to have development, but you have to know your players. You have to be able to respect your players. You can’t just coach every player the same. So, a coach that can adapt and really know his players and really develop them on the field and off the field is something that I’m looking for.”
