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It can be a blessing or a curse to have players committed to a program early on and Penn State is experiencing the latter situation right now.
They lost the commitment from Omari Gaines on March 1, who was the longest-committed player in the class of 2025.
Gaines is a 6’2″ 185-pound safety from New Jersey.
The three-star is listed as the 19th-best player in the state by On3’s Industry Rankings and the 43rd overall safety.
He was originally the second commitment for the Nittany Lions in the class, following fellow in-state prospect Jaelyne Matthews, but now both are no longer hold commitments.
Gaines did not visit Happy Valley during the open period in January, suggesting to many that this decision might be coming.
He gained some additional offers from other schools prior to reopening his recruitment.
In a conversation with Adam Friedman of Rivals, he spoke more in depth about his decision to decommit from Penn State.
“After talking with my family a lot, I felt like I had to really explore everywhere just to make sure the decision I make for the next four years is like really 100% and authentic,” he said.
Gaines then revealed some other schools who have been in contact with him recently, naming Maryland, Rutgers, Stanford, Pittsburgh and more.
Following he decommitment, he’ll be looking to ramp up his recruiting process again and has plans to visit schools across the country to get a feel for other places.
There’s still a chance that Gaines could return to Penn State, but that seems unlikely at this point.
While it’s certainly a bummer to lose a commit, this also opens up another spot in the secondary for the Nittany Lions to potentially sway others targets they’ve continued to communicate with.
Story originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/penn-state-loses-commitment-class-103527446.html
Author : Nittany Lions Wire
Publish date : 2024-03-06 10:35:27
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