Recruiting

Chaminade-Madonna receiver John Dunmore chooses Penn State.

Upon completion of participation at The Opening, Nike’s trademark platform for elite college football recruits to compete in drills every summer, John Dunmore was ready to commit.

The four-star Chaminade-Madonna receiver announced a pledge to Penn State on Wednesday evening.

He chose the Nittany Lions out of a list of seven official finalists, which included Miami, Florida, Florida State, Auburn, Michigan and Ohio State.

Dunmore, who is ranked by Rivals 10th among wideouts nationally and the 47th prospect regardless of position, took visits to most of those schools throughout the spring and summer. He visited Happy Valley on June 10. Dunmore had previously called Florida State his “dream school” to the Sun Sentinel in February.

Dunmore’s commitment to Penn State breaks an eight-year drought without a South Florida prospect for the Nittany Lions, not traditionally known to recruit the area. The last player from the South Florida tri-county area to end up in a Penn State recruiting class was Hialeah linebacker Gary Wooten in 2011.

That is expected to change with the addition of running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider to the Nittany Lions’ coaching staff in January. Seider, from Belle Glade, was instrumental in recruiting South Florida during previous stints at West Virginia and Marshall before spending 2017 with the Florida Gators. Dunmore is expected to be a major contributor to the defending Class 3A state champion Lions as he returns to the school where spent his freshman season.

Last season at American Heritage-Delray, he had 20 catches, 183 yards and four touchdowns receiving, adding 240 yards rushing and two touchdowns to go with 20 tackles and two interceptions on defense. He missed time due to injury and even played some quarterback when he was healthy and starter Ryan Rizk was out for the Stallions, which had their season end in a Region 4-3A semifinal at Chaminade.

At Cardinal Gibbons as a sophomore, Dunmore had 21 receptions for 324 yards and two touchdowns.

Dunmore becomes the 11th commit in Penn State’s 2019 recruiting class, which is looking to build on the momentum of the Nittany Lions’ 2018 class, which was ranked fifth nationally in the 247 Sports composite rankings.

Another local prospect, Cardinal Gibbons linebacker Yahweh Jeudy, announced a commitment to Kansas State on Wednesday.

Dunmore