The early signing period for football prospects in the Class of 2020 is upon us, and Penn State is expected to bring in a larger-than-usual class throughout the day. On the Penn State blog today, I’ll be breaking down each of the signees. Here is my scouting report on Allentown offensive line prospect Nick Dawkins.
Penn State OL prospect Nick Dawkins. PHOTO BY PENN STATE ATHLETICS
Height: 6-4
Weight: 300
School: Parkland HS
Projected position: Offensive guard
Rating: Three stars by Rivals.com, 247sports and ESPN
Other offers: Air Force, Army, Boston College, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Tennessee, UCF, Vanderbilt, West Virginia.
Projection: The son of former 76ers star Darryl Dawkins, Dawkins brings some thunder of his own along the offensive line. He has uncommon strength for a high school senior, and for his size, he has pretty good speed; he also, like plenty of other offensive line prospects in Penn State’s class, plays naasty. The issue for Dawkins is that he gets by relying on those traits. His technique at times wavers, and against the best competition he’ll face in the Big Ten, he needs to work on improving his leverage and footwork. He has all the athletic tools, and he’ll be a really good developmental project for offensive line coach Matt Limegrover over the next few years after he redshirts in 2020.
Donnie Collins has been a member of The Times-Tribune sports staff for nearly 20 years and has been the Penn State football beat writer for Times-Shamrock Newspapers since 2004. The Penn State Football Blog covers Nittany Lions, Big Ten and big-time college football news from Beaver Stadium to the practice field, the bowl game to National Letter of Intent Signing Day. Contact: dcollins@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5368; @DonnieCollinsTT