LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, JOHN DUNMORE!
THE SKINNY
Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 172 pounds
Hometown/High School: Hollywood, FL (Chaminade-Madonna Prep)
Ranking: ★★★★ (0.9509 247Sports Composite — No. 107 overall)
Notable Offers: Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Miami, and Ohio State
HIGHLIGHTS
THE TALE
Although the Nittany Lions didn’t offer John Dunmore until January 2018, Dunmore’s eventual connection to Penn State could be tied back to April 2017 when he committed to the Florida Gators. His recruiter at Florida? Ja’Juan Seider. When Seider left for Penn State in January, it was no coincidence that Dunmore rescinded his verbal commitment to the Gators, and to no surprise, an offer from Penn State came shortly after on January 27.
Dunmore didn’t get to visit Happy Valley until his official visit on June 10, but that was all the Nittany Lions needed. While the four-star wideout took subsequent visits to Miami and Auburn in the following weekends, it wasn’t enough to overcome Penn State. Dunmore made the call for Ja’Juan Seider once again, except this time, it was for the Nittany Lions.
OUTLOOK
Obviously, Dunmore has a terrific relationship with Ja’Juan Seider. He wouldn’t have committed to Penn State if he didn’t. However, it remains to be seen if Dunmore’s recruitment is over. Just as recently as one week ago, Dunmore said that even with a commitment coming before the season, he was still going to take official visits during the fall. Specifically, he mentions that his final official visit (he has two more to use) will be to Florida State, the program that was looked at as Dunmore’s leader before today’s commitment.
Could things have changed? Could Dunmore have promised to James Franklin that he wouldn’t pop up at Florida State or Miami? Perhaps. But more than likely, that won’t be the case. Fortunately, Penn State knows that, and with Coach Seider leading the charge, the Nittany Lions should feel good about their chances.
Taking a look at the bigger picture, this is the type of Florida talent that Penn State hasn’t landed in a long time. If Dunmore stays committed, he’ll be the first Top 15 Florida prospect to come to Penn State since the beginning of the modern recruiting era. Just to put into context how elite that is, Jordan Miner, Judge Culpepper, and Amani Oruwariye — the three other Florida prospects Penn State has signed under James Franklin — were ranked No. 60, No. 71, and No. 103 in-state, respectively. Dunmore’s just simply on another level as a recruit, and is a sign at the level in which the Nittany Lions are trending.
From an on-the-field perspective, Dunmore could be a candidate to get on the field early (especially if Juwan Johnson bolts for the NFL), but he needs to get a lot stronger. He has really good length at 6-foot-2 pushing 6-foot-3, can absolutely jump out of the gym with a 38-inch vertical, and flashes the natural receiving skills (catches the ball away from his body, shows good body control, high points the ball, etc.) which make him such a highly-touted prospect. But at just 172 pounds, his frame needs to add quite a bit of mass. He isn’t a speedster either, and projects more as a possession receiver, so it’s imperative that he puts on 30-40 pounds to have that size and strength advantage over Big Ten cornerbacks.