Blue White Illustrated

But when he 8nally traveled to University Park in April 2016, his interest immedi- ately skyrocketed. "I'll never forget that 8rst visit," Sulli- van-Brown said. "I was mainly looking at Duke and Maryland at the time because both o9ered a lot academically. I never knew how much Penn State could o9er academically until I took that visit. I also remember listening to how driven their coaches were about becoming one of the best in the Big Ten. I was hooked almost right from the start." In the months that followed, Sullivan- Brown made return visits to Duke and Maryland, and he also checked out Syra- cuse and West Virginia. Those four schools, along with Penn State, ulti- mately emerged as his top 8ve. Come July, he made it back to Penn State for his sec- ond visit, this time for the Lasch Bash barbecue. By the time he le;, he knew which school he was going to attend. "The Lasch Bash was a really important visit because I got to meet all the other players in my class," he said. "Once I got to talk with those guys, I knew I was going to 8t in with them. Everything else that Penn State o9ered just made them the perfect 8t for me." Because he had already lined up a visit to Duke the following weekend, Sullivan- Brown decided not to commit that day out of respect for the Blue Devils' coach- ing sta9. But he wasted little time a;er returning from his trip to Durham, N.C., verbally committing to Penn State less than a week later on July 29. With his decision behind him, Sullivan- Brown turned all of his attention toward his 8nal season of high school ball. With multiple freshmen and sophomores ex- pected to make an impact on Pallotti's varsity squad, Sullivan-Brown was able to work on one facet of his game in which he still had room to improve: leadership. "Before my senior season, I just led by example," he said. "But this year was a lit- tle di9erent because I was a senior. I had to be more vocal because we had a lot of young players. I'm happy that was the case because I learned a lot about what makes someone a good leader." That leadership was tested early, as the Panthers started their 2016 season with back-to-back losses. But what followed was one of the more impressive runs in Maryland last season. Pallotti won its next nine in a row, earning a spot in the MIAA B Conference championship game. Pal- lotti went on to defeat Boys Latin, 53-10. "That was one of the best days of my life," Sullivan-Brown said. "We won the championship my sophomore year, which also meant a lot, but to do it my senior year, I couldn't ask for a better way to end my career at Pallotti. For me, it's always been about the team. I'm never one of those guys who acts sel8sh and wants more touches. All that matters is that you produce when your time comes and that you work hard every day. That's how a team wins championships." Sullivan-Brown also le; a mark on the Maryland state record books. Despite the fact that Pallotti used a run-oriented of- fense his last two seasons, he 8nished sixth all-time with 2,846 career receiving yards. However, that's all behind him now, as his focus has shi;ed toward leaving his mark in the blue and white. "Once I get my academics in order – be- cause that's the most important thing this summer, getting o9 to a strong start aca- demically – I know that I'm starting with a fresh slate," he said. "I'm starting at the bottom of the list, so I really just want to show everyone that I'm a team guy and that I'm here to help however they need me. "I'm looking forward to working out with the quarterbacks and other receivers this summer to build some chemistry with them. Whatever the coaches need from me, I'll be there. I'm going to make sure I put in the extra work this summer so I can move up in the order." ■ Following years of speculation and debate, college football 8nally has its early signing period. On May 8, the Collegiate Commissioners Associa- tion approved a series of changes to its National Letter of Intent program, including a plan to create a three-day signing period in December. The changes will take e9ect this year, meaning that prospects in the Class of 2018 will be able to sign their letters from Dec. 20-22 rather than waiting until Feb. 7. The traditional signing day will still take place every year on the 8rst Wednesday of Febru- ary, but it's expected to be a much more low-key a9air, with many of the nation's top prospects having already inked their letters. Penn State's James Franklin said he expects most prospects to take ad- vantage of the early signing period. "If I had to guess, 75 to 85 percent of the guys are going to sign on the 8rst date," he said. "And then there will be some things that are kind of still sit- ting out there." In addition to adopting an early signing period, the NCAA is moving up the window in which prospects are permitted to take their o:cial visits. Starting with the Class of 2019, prospects can begin taking those vis- its on April 1. Under the current rules (which the Class of 2018 must follow), prospects aren't allowed to take o:- cial visits until the 8rst day of classes of their senior year in high school. Franklin said one of the bene8ts of the new rule is that schools will have a chance to regroup if they lose a prospect during the early signing pe- riod. "You're not going to be in a situ- ation where you're going to get surprised on signing day," he said. "You may get surprised on the 8rst signing day, but you'll still have a chance to recover with the other one with a few weeks le;. "There are going to be some unfore- seen consequences that come with this. That was my concern all along, but I don't think it will be as signi8cant as people think." –MATT HERB Early signing period coming in December

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