Israel-Achumba Finds a Good Fit on Offensive Line

The spark that Golden Israel-Achumba needed to take his recruitment to the next level came by coincidence.

Having played exclusively along the defensive line through his sophomore year of high school, Israel-Achumba was approached by the coaching staff at Maryland’s DeMatha Catholic High School and asked to play on the offensive front as well. He agreed, and the move turned out to have consequences well beyond simply giving DeMatha another option on the offensive line.

Already receiving interest from Division I schools, Israel-Achumba doubled his scholarship count after he made the transition. Impressing with his physicality and his consistency, he finished with 28 offers. Among them were schools like Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Penn State, where he will begin his college career come the fall.

In the summer of his senior season, Israel-Achumba cracked the Rivals250 for the first time and earned his status as a four-star prospect. He gave Penn State his verbal commitment on April 2 of last year and stayed solid after that.

“Before I committed, I made up my mind, when I commit to a school, that would be the last school that I would commit to,” he said.

“The family atmosphere that they have, that was probably the thing that stood out to me,” he said.

Israel-Achumba is one of three four-star offensive linemen set to begin their Penn State careers soon, joining Jimmy Christ and Olu Fashanu, along with three-star prospects Ibrahim Traore and Nick Dawkins. First-year offensive line coach Phil Trautwein will have plenty of young talent to mold as he takes the reins of that position group.

For Israel-Achumba, Penn State represented a chance to attend a university with more to offer than what takes place on Saturdays at Beaver Stadium. It’s the right distance away from home, he said – not too far, but not too close.

It also offers a strong business program. That was important to Israel-Achumba, who, unlike many freshmen, knows exactly what he would like to pursue academically when he arrives. His father runs an HVAC business, and Israel-Achumba said he would like to use the skills he acquires from earning a business degree at Penn State to run that company someday.

On the field, Israel-Achumba’s physical mentality remains one of his best assets. He compiled 38 pancake blocks over the course of his final two seasons at DeMatha.

“I’m a mauler,” he said, simply.

Indeed, playing on the offensive side of the ball for the first time at the high school level showed Israel-Achumba that he was something of a natural, but there was still much work to be done to get his body ready for the physical demands of playing both offense and defense. Remarkably, he said he dropped 50 pounds over the course of an off-season to prepare for his double duties at DeMatha.

Now, as he prepares to make the jump to high-level college football, he’s listed at an imposing 6-foot-4, 325 pounds. In Israel-Achumba’s mind, though, the physical work is far from finished. He said he still wants to fine-tune his speed and quickness as he looks toward his goal of contributing as soon as possible at Penn State.

No matter how long it takes Israel-Achumba to earn reps on Saturdays, rest assured that he’s entering his college career with an attitude that Penn State’s coaching staff and fan base alike will love to see.

"I'm ready to win," he said.

*******

• Talk about this article inside The Lions Den

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue-White Illustrated

• Follow us on Twitter: @BWIonRivals, @NateBauerBWI, @RivalsSnyder, @DavidEckert98

• Like us on Facebook