Ace Escobedo, a senior defensive tackle at Regis Jesuit, committed to the University of Pennsylvania’s football program on Saturday afternoon.
Escobedo, who stands 6-foot-3 and is 270 pounds, announced his decision over Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ace_escobedo/status/635181076126654464
Last season, Escobedo had five sacks and two hurries. He also had 20 total tackles, including four for a loss.
The senior picked Pennsylvania, which competes in the Ivy League of Division I’s Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), over seven other offers, according to Rivals. Included were offers from three other Ivies — Columbia, Dartmouth and Yale — and offers from Air Force, Northern Colorado, Montana and South Dakota.
Penn is playing under first-year coach Ray Priore this season, who is replacing the legendary Al Bagnoli. Bagnoli retired following the 2014 season with a career record of 234-99, but came out of retirement three months later when, to the surprise of many, he took over as the head coach at Columbia.
Penn has the most outright Ivy League titles of any schools with 13, and won a league record 20-straight games from 2001-04.
At Penn, Escobedo will join former Regis Jesuit teammate Jack Maly, a 2015 graduate who plays on the offensive line. Also on the Quakers’ roster is 2015 Broomfield graduate Cooper Gardner, a defensive lineman, and Fairview alum Jack Madden, who will be a senior this season.
Escobedo is the eighth in-state football player to make his college choice from the Class of 2016 to this point.
Escobedo’s junior season highlights are below, via Hudl.