Penn State picks up commitment No. 8 in 2027 class from OL Owen Reilly

Penn State’s momentum in the 2027 recruiting class continued on Friday, as head coach Matt Campbell and his staff picked up their eighth commitment in the past three weeks from Maryland offensive lineman Owen Reilly.

A 6-foot-4, 290-pound interior lineman from Bel Air, Reilly visited Penn State twice previously, attending a camp in June 2024 before returning last August for the season opener against Nevada. He didn’t earn an offer from the previous coaching staff, but they were the first major program to show interest in Reilly back when he was a freshman.

Fast-forward to now and it’s Campbell’s staff reaping the benefits. Although he didn’t grow up a fan, that early contact and interest prompted him to learn more about the program.

“The offer was huge to me since it was my dream college since my freshman year,” Reilly said.

“They were the first school that contacted me, and as a freshman, to get contacted by Penn State, I knew that was a big deal, knowing how great of a team they were. That made me like them even more.”

Link: Why Penn State could be closing in on multiple offensive line commitments

It also didn’t hurt that Reilly and offensive line coach Ryan Clanton instantly developed a strong relationship.

“I really got along with Coach Clanton,” Reilly said. “He’s younger and reminds me of my high school offensive line coach, so it’s really easy to connect with him as a player. He has had a lot of success at Iowa State creating all-conference linemen.”

In addition to Penn State, Reilly visited Maryland, Rutgers, South Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia Tech throughout his recruitment. He previously planned to visit Pitt and Rutgers, April 11 and 14th, respectively, followed by West Virginia this upcoming weekend, April 18. A return trip to Penn State was slotted for next weekend, April 25.

However, once it became public that Reilly had canceled his trips to Pitt and Rutgers, while also moving up his visit to Penn State, it was clear that the Nittany Lions had a sizable edge on the competition.

“He loves Penn State,” said Bel Air head coach Eric Siegel. “I remember him saying that Penn State is a place where he could see himself playing, and that goes back all the way to his freshman year. So, he’s been talking about that for a while.”

In addition to football, Reilly is also a quality wrestler. As a sophomore, he was the MPSSAA 4A-3A North Regional champion at heavyweight and placed sixth in the state championship. Reilly then earned the No. 2 seed in this year’s MPSSAA state championship but was upset in the quarterfinals.

Both Rivals and 247Sports consider Reilly an 88 overall three-star. The Industry Rankings place him at No. 761 nationally, No. 62 as an interior offensive lineman and No. 17 in Maryland for the 2027 class.