Blue White Illustrated

February 2019

Penn State Sports Magazine

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since then, she's been in touch with the coaches much more than even I realized. She's been building a relationship with them on the side and always felt com- fortable with them, just like I did, just like my dad did. So even though she did- n't see the place in person before I com- mitted, she knows what their coaches are all about. BWI A lot of people thought that Ohio State was Penn State's top competitor. Is that accurate? Also, what other schools were you looking at? And where did you visit? WINGO I had a few schools that were standing out to me. Ohio State was obvi- ously one of them, but I also really like Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan and Clem- son. I would say that those were the schools that stood out to me the most. I got to visit Penn State, Ohio State, Florida and Miami. I also saw Tennessee and a few others early in my high school career. I know I'm missing a couple. All of those visits were great, but there was just something about Penn State that I loved. I remember being downtown dur- ing [Ohio State weekend] and seeing how passionate all of their fans are. That's something I'll never forget. Their fans are some of the best in the country, and I like the town. It's just a good 1t for me. BWI How important were academics in this decision? Any idea what you want to major in? WINGO That was one of the big ques- tions when we got to meet with Coach Franklin. He actually brought it up 1rst because he knows that's what people look for, especially coming to a univer- sity like that, which o2ers great athletics and academics. I remember him ex- plaining their study halls and grade checks and how we always have people to help us manage our academics with such a busy schedule. I think that im- pressed my parents. Their coaches are always on us when it comes to grades and being on time for class and making sure you turn your assignments in on time. He's strict about that. If you ever get the chance to meet him in person, you can tell that's something he's gen- uine about. As far as what I want to major in, I think I'm going to end up doing some- thing in business. I have some time to 1gure that all out, but that's what I'm thinking about. BWI Any idea how many times you can bench 185 or 225? Same with squat or powerclean? What about your best 40 time? WINGO Honestly, I haven't been able to max out or any- thing like that lately because I had a shoulder injury. Last summer, I remember, I maxed on bench at 300, but it's been a while since I've done any of that stu2. I actually dislocated my shoulder a few times this season. I do remember my best 40 time. That was a 4.7. BWI I didn't know about your shoulder. Are you having surgery this o2-season? WINGO I don't believe I have to. I was lucky. From what I was told, it ended up just bruising me up a bit. I didn't tear my labrum or anything like that, so I should be good to go. BWI Is there anything you want to say to Penn State fans? It can be about whatever you want. WINGO I would just say that it feels like Penn State has always been so close. It feels like they always have a two-point loss to Ohio State or are a couple spots o2 from being in the playo2. In recent years, they've been good, but just not quite where they want to be. That's why I think that, with this 2019 class and the class we're going to put together in 2020, we're going to be the group that's going to get Penn State there. We're going to be the top dogs by the time my teammates and I leave that place. We're going to beat Ohio State, we're going to beat Michigan, we're going to win that Big Ten championship and make the playo2. That's our goal, and we're going to make sure we take that next step. ■ 2020 PROSPECT Wingo meets with Franklin on the field before Penn State's White Out game against Ohio State last Sep- tember. Photo by Bill Anderson

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