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N orval Black's path changed with one catch. It wasn't a game-winning touchdown in a state playo9 game or even a reception for a crucial 7rst down to secure a victory over a rival school. In fact, it was against his own team – a one-handed catch during his 7rst padded practice at Lackawanna College. "That's when everyone started to notice me," Black said. "Before that, during the whole week before, I remember calling home to my mom and telling her that football probably isn't for me." It might sound odd for a player who turned into a Penn State recruit to wonder whether he wanted to continue playing the sport just over a year before committing. But for the 6-foot-1 wide receiver, the path to playing football at Penn State was far from straight. In fact, the path to play- ing college football anywhere seemed un- likely. He was his high school's star basketball player and took AAU seriously – so much so that he always thought it would be the sport he played in college. Black barely played football at North- west High School in Maryland until his senior year, but his exploits on the hard- wood were enough to catch the Lack- awanna coaching sta9's eye. "One of the main reasons we recruited A fleeting moment altered Black's career trajectory THE BLACK FILE STATS Was a two-year letterman at Lackawanna... Totaled 22 catches for 570 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore... Had 15 catches for 445 yards and five TDs as a freshman... Sur- passed 900 points as a basketball player at Northwest High HONORS Named a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 26 junior college prospect nationally... Invited to play in the Big 33 Game following his high school career his sister is now part of Lovie Smith's sta9 at Illinois. So they all helped Parker han- dle this the right way." By the summer of 2019, Washington had earned 16 scholarship o9ers. Georgia Tech, Houston, Nebraska and Utah all came calling, but in the end, his decision came down to two Big Ten programs, Penn State and Wisconsin. Before making his decision, Washington took back-to-back o:cial visits to Penn State and Wisconsin in mid-June. He also 8ew up to State College with his sister in April 2019 to get his 7rst look at the school. "One of the biggest things that caught my eye was their academics," Washington said following his visit. "That's going to be important to me. The [Morgan Aca- demic Center] is really nice. It's a real complex building with di9erent rooms that are isolated so you can avoid distrac- tions. … But I also liked the campus and how it's isolated. In that whole area, everyone is all about Penn State. That's big to me, too." Washington committed to Penn State on July 2, less than two weeks a;er his of- 7cial visit. He held 7rm with his decision and never wavered, although Sissom said that a few schools closer to home tested his commitment to the Nittany Lions late in the process. "Parker was recruited more nationally than he was by some of the bigger schools in our region," Sissom said. "He really saw more interest from schools outside of our region more so than Texas or A&M. That was unique, I thought, about his recruit- ment. Once he committed, he was never going to look around, but there were a few schools that gave him a look late. [Texas] A&M, TCU and Texas Tech, plus a few other Big 12 schools, made a bit of a push a;er the fact, but once he gave his com- mitment to Penn State, he was never going to change that. Coach Franklin and his sta9 were thorough with him from the start, which helped make this an easy de- cision for Parker. Plus, he's such a high- quality kid. Once he gave his word, he was never going to go against that." Washington, who stands 5-foot-10, 203 pounds and runs a 4.4-second 40-yard dash, 7nished his career with 159 recep- tions for 2,821 yards and 36 touchdowns. In the three seasons he lettered, Travis improved each year. A;er a 7-4 season in 2017, the Tigers went 8-3 in 2018, fol- lowed by a 10-1 season his senior year. Like the other the Class of 2020 players who didn't enroll early, Washington joined the program in June. Sources close to the team suggested that he got o9 to a great start during his 7rst few months on campus. That's no surprise to Sissom. "The biggest thing about Parker is that he's just a playmaker," he said. "He's not a guy that's going to play outside and run deep post routes and make those splashy, deep touchdowns. He's the kid that you get the ball to on third down. Really, you get him the ball whenever you can, because he makes people miss. … Also, his versatility stands out. We ran a bunch of jet sweeps, bubble routes, screens, all of that. He's that player who you just find different ways to get him the ball. I can't tell you how many times we would get him the ball a yard deep in the backfield and he would end up taking it 60. He made us look like pretty good coaches, but really, it was all him making plays." ■ |

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