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Penn State DE Jayson Oweh picked up by Ravens in first round of NFL Draft

The 6-foot-5, 257-pound Oweh, a first-team all-Big Ten selection last season, impressed NFL scouts by running the 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds on his pro day.

Penn State defensive end Jayson Oweh (28), shown chasing Maryland running back Jake Funk (34) during a game last November, was a first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens, chosen No. 31 overall.
Penn State defensive end Jayson Oweh (28), shown chasing Maryland running back Jake Funk (34) during a game last November, was a first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens, chosen No. 31 overall.Read moreBarry Reeger / AP
    by Joe Juliano
    Published 

Penn State defensive end Jayson Oweh, who didn’t record a single sack during the 2020 season but impressed scouts last month with his athleticism at the Nittany Lions’ Pro Day, was drafted late Thursday night by the Batlimore Ravens with the 31st overall pick in the NFL Draft.

The 6-foot-5, 257-pound Oweh finished fourth on the Lions in tackles with 38, including 6½ for a loss and earned first-team all-Big Ten honors. But he really opened the eyes of NFL scouts and front-office personnel with his Pro Day performance on March 25.

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Oweh ran the 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds, slightly faster than the 4.39 clocked by linebacker Micah Parsons, his training partner in southern California who was taken 12th in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys. Oweh also did a 39½-inch vertical leap and broad jumped 11 feet, 2 inches.

A native of Howell, N.J., Oweh didn’t play varsity football at Blair Academy until his junior season. He played four games in his first season at Penn State, holding on to his redshirt, then recorded five sacks and two forced fumbles the next year.

Oweh is the first Penn State defensive lineman to be chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft since tackle Jared Odrick, who went to the Miami Dolphins with the 28th pick in 2010.

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