Courtesy of Penn State Athletics
Today, as the early National Letter of Intent signing day period kicks off, most — if not all — of the newest members of the Penn State recruiting class will sign on the dotted line, accepting a scholarship to play football for the Nittany Lions. For every player who does sign, I’ll be here to provide an in-depth scouting report. Here is my report on Pittsburgh-area tight end Khalil Dinkins.
Height: 6-4
Weight: 221
School: North Allegheny HS (Wexford)
Projected position: Tight end
Rating: Three stars by Rivals.com, 247sports and ESPN
Other Power 5 offers: Boston College, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech
Projection: Dinkins’ high school video is what you’d pretty much expect it to be from a guy his size and pedigree. His father, Darnell, played eight seasons in the NFL with the Giants, Ravens and Browns, and he later coached in Tampa Bay. Khalil Dinkins is, therefore, very well-schooled, strong, aggressive and physically impressive. At his size, he played mostly as a receiver in the WPIAL and was one of a really good league’s most productive players. His team won 36 of the 39 games in which he played. He’s a huge target, and Penn State tight ends coach Tyler Bowen has done a really good job molding underrated prospects into valuable contributors early in their careers. The tight end group at Penn State is loaded, but Dinkins likely won’t take a backseat to anybody in the room. Look for him to vie for significant playing time as early as 2022.
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