Penn State football picks up 2021 commitment from in-state tight end Khalil Dinkins
Penn State football picked up its first 2021 commitment since July Wednesday afternoon. In-state athlete Khalil Dinkins announced his commitment to Penn State head coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions via his personal twitter account.
“Experiencing being recruited by top coaches is something so amazing that I will never forget,” Dinkins’ announcement statement read. “I am so very thankful for all the coaches that have shown interest in me these last few years ... I Khalil Dinkins am 100% committed to Penn State University #WeAre21.”
He chose the Nittany Lions over 15 other scholarship offers, according to his 247Sports profile. The in-state recruit had offers from other Power-5 schools such as Boston College, Kentucky and Pittsburgh. His profile lists western Pennsylvania native Terry Smith as his primary recruiter and tight ends coach Tyler Bowen as his secondary recruiter.
Dinkins is a three-star recruit from North Allegheny High School in Wexford. He’s rated as a tight end but has the athleticism and build to play there or defensive end. He tallied 16 receptions for 399 yards and six touchdowns as a junior, according to MaxPreps, and has helped North Allegheny to a 5-0 record to begin his senior season.
The in-state product is the No. 45 tight end in the country and the No. 22 player in Pennsylvania in the 247Sports Composite player rankings. He’s the sixth offensive player to commit to Penn State in the class and the first since Malvern Prep’s Lonnie White Jr. committed in May.
The 2021 Penn State recruiting class now has 14 commitments with the addition of Dinkins. The class can sign as early as Dec. 16 and lock themselves into being Nittany Lions.
The 14-recruit group is currently ranked No. 31 in the country and No. 8 in the Big Ten, according to the 247Sports Composite team rankings.
This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 1:48 PM.
