Joey O'Brien has plenty of great options and the 2026 Pennsylvania safety doesn’t know which one he’s going to choose.
“It's going to be a hard decision,” O’Brien said from OT7 in Texas this weekend. “I'm going to be completely honest. I have no clue.”
The 6-foot-4, 185-pounder may not have a clue where he’ll end up, but does have an idea of what schools he’s looking closely at - namely Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee, Clemson and Oregon.
“They like to win,” he said of his leaders. “I've got great relationships with all the head coaches, all the DB coaches. I like the campus. That's a big part. I want to see how the campus is because you want to go to a school for school just in case football don't work.”
O’Brien has unofficial visits coming up to Oregon and Penn State before official visits to Penn State, Clemson, Oregon, Tennessee and Notre Dame.
The Irish have been after him for a while, led by head coach Marcus Freeman, defensive backs coach Mike Mickens and Director of Recruiting Carter Auman.
“Coach Mickens, he's such a good dude and he develops people,” O’Brien said. “He literally - you see all the rankings - he is the best cornerback coach in the country, the best safety coach in the country. He is a really good guy, really down to earth.
“The same with Coach Freeman. He's very family-oriented. He's just really nice to me and my family, always calling in just to check in. We have a great relationship.”
O’Brien pointed to Auman as one of the top recruiters across the country who is making the biggest impact on him.
“That's my guy,” he said.
The La Salle College High School standout said the Irish have been consistent in their pursuit of him.
“Obviously, they were my third offer,” he said. “They've been coming really hard out of everybody. Originally I had them for a midweek visit, but now they told me to switch it and I ended up doing it.”
O’Brien says he’ll make his decision sometime after his official visits and before the start of his senior season.
He’s identified a few factors in his decision.
“Development. I want to go to a winning team. And then, just the relationship with the coaches.”
Interview conducted by TexAgs’ Jason Howell
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