Penn State football notebook: DE Jayson Oweh making presence felt in weight room
Jayson Oweh cocked his head to the side and stared up at the vertical jump tester as if he expected better.
The Penn State defensive end never appeared satisfied during Thursday’s weightlifting session open to the media, often shaking his head and rarely smiling, even when his teammates applauded or shouted “Oh my God!” Dwight Galt, assistant athletics director of performance enhancement, said that’s been a theme for the explosive redshirt freshman this offseason: It’s never good enough for Oweh.
Galt said Oweh’s constant pushing has led to measurables that are nearly off the charts, just as they were again Thursday — with a 455-pound squat seven times, a 355-pound power clean, a 390-pound bench and an unofficial 36-inch vertical. Oweh has also increased his weight to about 260 pounds, which is up from 228 when he first arrived in Happy Valley.
“He just continues to not rely on his natural ability, which is huge for me,” Galt said. “I’ve done it for 35 years now and I see too many guys that have done that. He continues to really want to be all that he can be. ... Jayson’s got a chance.”
Oweh earned the “athletic freak” moniker early on in his Penn State tenure, recording two sacks in his first-ever game against Kent State. He might not start this season, not with other players such as Shane Simmons and Shaka Toney pushing for time — but it’s no stretch to think he’ll still make an impact.
Off the field, and in the weight room, he’s already make his presence known. With an emblazoned “Maximize the Moment” T-shirt, he offered words of encouragement Thursday and heard plenty of his own: “C’mon, J! Jayson, I need it! Let’s go!” But he’s also helped push a teammate that lifts at a different time — rising sophomore linebacker Micah Parsons.
On Monday, Parsons left the weight room with a power-clean of 355 pounds. When Oweh came in a little later, his first question to Galt was what Parsons did. And then? “So Jayson cleans 355,” Galt said with a smile.
On Thursday, Parsons squatted 565 pounds. So Oweh came in and tried to reach that number — coming up just short at 545.
The two have even gone back and forth on Twitter, arguing over who’s the fastest. Although the weight-room board says Oweh ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash over the summer to Parsons’ 4.52, the linebacker wasn’t ready to let that go. “Nonsense,” Parsons said on Twitter. “Go to sleep Jayson.”
“I know the Oweh-Parsons thing went viral a little bit on social media,” Galt added. “So it’s been kind of fun, and I’ve been stirring the pot on that one.”
Oweh earned the honor of breaking down the team after Thursday’s weightlifting session. And with spring practice just around the corner, on March 13, Oweh could be primed for a breakout.
“He’s got a chance as a strength/speed athlete, which is great for me,” Galt said. “But also to really translate that to the field and to be something special on the field.”
Tommy Stevens ditches brace
Stevens, who will enter spring camp as the starting quarterback, was on-hand Thursday with the rest of the quarterbacks — and the fifth-year senior was without a cast on his injured right leg.
Stevens was seen performing leg presses. His status for spring hasn’t yet been addressed, but his current condition certainly appears to be a positive after missing the Citrus Bowl and undergoing an unspecified offseason surgery.
The QB played in seven games last season, finishing with 118 rushing yards and 110 passing yards. He also accounted for three total touchdowns.
Building a team around Parsons?
Galt raved about Parsons on Thursday, saying he couldn’t be more proud of how far the linebacker has come.
“He doesn’t want to be average or good; he wants to be great,” Galt said. “I know that challenging him on a daily basis to be all you can be, he thrives on that. He’s never had a day off. He comes in; he does what he’s supposed to do.
“He works his butt off. He’s got a great attitude. He’s doing unbelievable at school, and I couldn’t be more pleased with him. Micah is the kind of guy you want to eventually build your team around.”
Athletic linebackers
Galt wasn’t just happy with Parsons — he said the entire corp of linebackers fared well this winter.
He said eight linebackers boasted at least a 10-foot broad jump, which is pretty rare in college football. Last season, at the NFL Combine, only eight of the 19 linebackers that took part in the broad jump boasted 10 feet. (Big Ten LB of the Year Josey Jewell, of Iowa, had a 9-foot-7.)
“That’s phenomenal,” Galt added. “So our linebacker corp is extremely athletic.”
Galt noted that Jan Johnson had a 10-foot broad jump and also had a triple-broad of 30 feet.
This story was originally published February 28, 2019 at 7:47 PM.