Blue White Illustrated

Florida linebacker is second to join Class of 2020 | P enn State picked up a Christmas Day commitment when Rivals250 line- backer Derek Wingo of St. Thomas Aquinas High in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., announced his decision via Twitter. A member of the Class of 2020, Wingo earned an o3er from the Nittany Lions in June and quickly built a strong relation- ship with assistant coach Ja'Juan Seider. He then visited in October for the Nittany Lions' game against Ohio State. That trip made a major impact, said Wingo's father, Brian. "The atmosphere and just the overall feeling of love that he got from everyone there – I think that's what stood out the most," Brian Wingo said following his son's commitment. "He just felt so good when he visited. He felt friendship, he felt family, he felt happiness. There was so much that stood out to him that day. Most impor- tantly, he just felt like he be- longed there. "Ohio State was really awesome. He loved it there, but something was just di3erent about Penn State. I think just the bond he felt with [James] Franklin and Seider, plus even some of the 2019 recruits he met that weekend – that really stood out. He just got the vibe that these guys are di3erent and that this is a really special place." While it was well known that Wingo was high on the Lions, his commitment came as a bit of a surprise. It even caught Brian o3-guard, as Derek and his mother had been planning it for weeks as a Christmas gi4. "I actually just found out about this myself today," Brian said. "I learned that my wife and Derek had been going back and forth with the coaches for at least a few weeks now about this. "I learned about it today when Derek gave me a box with a hat and shirt in it. I asked him, 'Why Penn State?' Then, he showed me his post on Twit- ter. So this was certainly my biggest Christmas gi4 today. He's been very high on Penn State for a while now, so as long as he's happy with the decision, I'll always be there to sup- port him." The nation's seventh-ranked outside linebacker, Wingo earned 24 scholarship o3ers. Ohio State was believed to be Penn State's top competitor, but Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas were just a few of the schools that extended o3ers. With his commitment, Wingo became the second member of Penn State's Class of 2020, joining three-star o3ensive line- man Grant Toutant of De La Salle High in Warren, Mich. Toutant, who committed in November, has been a fast riser lately, having earned a deluge of late-fall o3ers from the likes of Penn State, Duke, Pitt, Wisconsin and Toledo. Toutant's recruitment began to heat up when the Badgers extended an o3er in mid-October. They had seen Toutant previously at a satellite camp, and his junior season 2lm had reinforced their scouting report. Other schools soon fol- lowed suit. Penn State was familiar with him as well. Toutant had been on campus in July for summer camp and had been on the sta3's radar since he was a freshman. He had been building a strong relationship with o3ensive line coach Matt Limegrover, and during the camp stop this NEW LINEBACKER Wingo announced in December that he plans to sign with Penn State. He also considered Ohio State, Clemson and Florida, among oth- ers. Photo courtesy of Rivals.com

• Cover