Blue White Illustrated

Golden Achumba OL 6-4 320 ★★★ Hyattsville, Md. DeMatha R.J. Adams Jr. OL 6-3 319 ★★★ Woodbridge, Va. Woodbridge Senior Micah Bowens QB 6-1 185 ★★★ Las Vegas, Nev. Bishop Gorman Cole Brevard DT 6-3 308 ★★★★ Carmel, Ind. Carmel Nicholas Dawkins OL 6-4 300 ★★★ Allentown, Pa. Parkland Curtis Jacobs Ath. 6-2 230 ★★★★ Glen Burnie, Md. McDonogh Josh Moten DB 5-11 165 ★★★★ Fort Washington, Md. National Christian Academy Aaryn Parks OL 6-5 294 ★★★★ Fort Washington, Md. National Christian Academy Grant Toutant OL 6-7 310 ★★★ Warren, Mich. De La Salle Derek Wingo LB 6-1 215 ★★★★ Fort Lauderdale, Fla. St. Thomas Aquinas Dont'e Thornton Jr. WR 6-4 180 N/A Baltimore, Md. Mount St. Joseph * As of May 5 C L A S S O F 2 0 2 0 C L A S S O F 2 0 2 1 P E N N S T A T E R E C R U I T S * Spencer, Coach [Tim] Banks and Coach [Kevin] Smith. "They've gone out of their way to build a relationship with him, with me, with my ex-husband, all of us. They've just done a great job with that." Brevard totaled 20 scholarship o6ers. He was originally planning to take o7cial visits to Indiana and Wisconsin in June but no longer plans to do so. Clemson, Louisville, Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State were a few of the other schools that he visited. All of those schools have extended scholarship o6ers. The Lions added their 5rst in-state commitment April 22 when Nicholas Dawkins, an o6ensive guard from Park- land in Allentown, announced the end of his recruitment. Dawkins earned an o6er from the sta6 just about a month before he committed, attending a junior day March 23. The three-star prospect made it clear at the time that the Lions were high on his list, but he also said that he had to see more of the school. He got that opportunity the same day he committed, as Dawkins re- turned to take one more look at the entire university. He then committed before heading home. "I was thinking about this a lot recently," Dawkins said a few hours a8er his com- mitment. "I didn't want it to get out there, so I kept it really quiet, but this was some- thing I talked about with my mom a lot. I really want my family to be able to see me play. So that was important. I love being in the state. I love Pennsylvania, and growing up I always watched Penn State, so I thought of this as kind of like a dream o6er. I thought this was just the best place." Dawkins is the son of former Philadel- phia 76ers center Darryl Dawkins. He earned opportunities to attend multiple Ivy League programs but always wanted to play at the Division I level. Boston Col- lege, UCF, Louisville, Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Tennessee and West Virginia were some of the more notable schools to o6er. But maybe the most impactful commit- ment came at the end of the month, when Rivals100 o6ensive tackle Aaryn Parks announced his decision on April 29. "I got a great vibe from the players and coaches, and they made me feel like I never left home," Parks said. "As soon as I stepped foot on Penn State's campus they recruited me so hard. All the play- ers, coaches, and strength and condi- tioning coaches I never even knew were showing me love. It's a special place to be." He went on to add, "The coaches really wanted me to be a part of their family. Coach [Tyler] Bowen, Coach [Matt] Limegrover and Coach Franklin believe that I can have a big impact on the 2020 class and this o6ensive line group. They believe I can be a leader and step on the 5eld early." Parks is the 11th-ranked tackle in the country and the seventh-ranked player in Maryland this year. He's been at the top of the sta6's recruiting board since earn- ing an o6er and is currently the highest- ranked player committed to the Class of 2020. The Lions beat out a host of top programs, including Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. ■

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