Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1378330
U P C L O S E & P E R S O N A L CB Jordan Allen 6-0 180 ★★★ Lafayette, La. Lafayette Christian Academy Oliver Bridges 6-1 170 ★★★ Potomac, Md. Bullis School Jaeden Gould 6-2 190 ★★★★ Oradell, N.J. Bergen Catholic Julian Humphrey 6-0 175 ★★★★ Houston, Texas Clear Lake Keenan Nelson Jr. 6-0 200 ★★★★ Philadelphia, Pa. St. Joseph's Safety Sherrod Covil 6-0 188 ★★★ Chesapeake, Va. Oscar Smith Keon Sabb 6-2 195 ★★★★ Glassboro, N.J. IMG Academy (Fla.) K.J. Winston 6-2 190 ★★★ Hyattsville, Md. DeMatha * As of May 23 S A F E T Y | Highlight video changed everything for Dinkins I f you grew up outside Pittsburgh and your dad played football at Pitt in the late 1990s, many people might naturally assume that the Panthers are going to be serious players in your recruitment. Ask anyone about Khalil Dinkins when he began emerging onto the scene at North Allegheny High in 2019 and that was a widely held view. Some reporters in west- ern Pennsylvania had him penciled in as a Pitt signee and had already moved on to the topic of where he would best 0t on the Panthers' roster. Pitt ended up being the second Power Five school to formally pursue Dinkins, o2ering a scholarship shortly a3er Vir- ginia made the move in September 2019. Those two, along with Akron and Toledo, were the only four o2ers he had until the start of 2020, when schools were able to review all of the 0lm from his junior sea- son. Once that video was available, schol- arships came 1ooding in, with 11 programs o2ering in a six-week span be- ginning in January. It was during that time that Dinkins and his father, Darnell, also snuck up to State College to take an under-the-radar tour of the University Park campus. With the COVID-19 pandemic just weeks away from shutting down college sports, the trip proved to be a major moment in his recruitment. It also proved to be a major plus for James Franklin and his sta2. "We just went up there in January to spend a day getting to know their coaches," Dinkins said. "I didn't really know their coaches too well at the time. They didn't o2er me yet, either, but it ended up being a really good trip. We learned a lot that day, and I feel like I re- ally got to know their coaches." The Nittany Lions ended up extending an o2er to Dinkins a few weeks later, and from that point forward, a lot changed. Michigan had o2ered just days before Penn State, and a3er the Nittany Lions came a 1ood of additional Power Five schools. Georgia Tech, Maryland and Vir- ginia Tech o2ered within a week or two of each other, while Kentucky, Michigan State and West Virginia all followed in March and April. Dinkins initially hoped to visit most of those schools at some point, but it be- came clear within a few months that vis- THE DINKINS FILE STATS Finished with 413 receiving yards and six touchdowns as a senior... Helped North Allegheny go 36-3 during his four varsity seasons, including a 10-0 mark in 2020 HONORS Rated a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 24 prospect in Pennsylvania... Was a Class 6A All-Con- ference choice following his junior and senior sea- sons... Named to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Fabulous 22 team CLICK HERE to see video of Dinkins in action. C O R N E R B A C K