Before Sunday, Penn State 2026 defensive line commitment Isaac Chukwurah was a prospect who was largely flying under the radar. Across all recruiting services, Chukwurah is considered a three-star prospect, including on Rivals. His offer sheet before his commitment was solid but not stellar. While he had nearly two dozen offers, he held only Power Four offers from Boston College, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.
After Sunday, Chukwurah has put himself on the map as potentially one of the top defensive linemen in the Mid-Atlantic region.
The 6-foot-3 Chukwurah earned defensive line MVP honors at the All-22 event on Sunday morning in State College. On Sunday evening, Happy Valley Insider caught up with Chukwurah briefly to get his reaction to his standout performance.
"It feels great," Chukwurah said initially. "First step to showing the world who I am. All glory to God!"
Chukwurah told Happy Valley Insider that throughout the camp, he believed he was performing at the level needed to earn MVP honors.
"I would say so," he said. "I moved well during the position drills, and then I think the 1-on-1s sealed the deal for me. My goal was to be the best defensive lineman at the camp, and I think I proved that."
Following his MVP performance, Chukwurah took the opportunity to stop by the Lasch Building.
"I stopped in for a little bit and only talked to DJ Bryant and Coach Poindexter on his way out," Chukwurah told HVI. "So me and him (DJ Bryant) just chopped it up," he added.
The three-star defensive lineman did tell Happy Valley Insider that he hit up both head coach James Franklin, defensive line coach Deion Barnes, and assistant defensive line coach Andrew Jackson. "They were fired up, but they weren't surprised," he said about the coaching staff's reaction.
While listed by Rivals as a defensive end and currently roughly 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, Chukwurah will most likely move inside to defensive tackle for the Nittany Lions.
He's currently one of two defensive line commitments for the program this cycle, joining St. Joseph's Prep (PA) standout Alexander Haskell. Like Chukwurah, Haskell plays mostly defensive end for St. Joseph's Prep but will also likely move to defensive tackle upon his arrival in Happy Valley.
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