The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yellow Jackets add second Westlake commitment
Receiver/tight end is 247Sports’ No. 48 prospect in state.
Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins received a commitment for the third day in a row Wednesday, bringing the number of prospects who have committed to the Yellow Jackets’ 2021 signing class to 13, and 10 since April 28.
Westlake High wide receiver/tight end Leo Blackburn added his name to the list with an announcement on Twitter, joining Lions teammate Jakiah Leftwich, an offensive tackle who announced his commitment Friday.
“Leo’s an awesome kid,” Westlake coach Bobby May told the AJC. “He works hard, super talented, smart on and off the field.”
Blackburn, listed at 6 feet 5 and 217 pounds, is a threestar recruit, rated the No. 26 tight end prospect nationwide and the No. 48 prospect in the state (247Sports Composite). He is the second top-50 player in Georgia to commit to the class, joining Douglas County High defensive end Joshua Robinson.
Blackburn also announced scholarship offers from Miami, Kentucky, South Carolina and others.
May described Blackburn as long and athletic. His versatility with playing wide receiver and tight end (a graphic made for his commitment, a mock ESPN magazine cover, describes him as a wide receiver) only adds to his appeal.
“That’s the beauty of recruiting somebody like him,” May said. “There’s really no risk, because if he can’t do one he can do the other, and you can fill in your class as you need around him.”
The 13 players committed include two wide receivers ( James BlackStrain and Malik Rutherford), two tight ends (Ben Postma, who committed Tuesday, and Blackburn) and athlete Jamal Haynes, who plays wide receiver at Grayson High.
Furthermore, as Blackburn is a three-sport athlete, playing football, basketball and baseball, “once he focuses on just football, he’s going to be a really great player,” May said.
He said Blackburn has spent “a lot of time” with Tech coaches, adding that he was drawn to the idea of staying close to home and family, as well as the potential to play early. May also called Blackburn “a good fit” from an academic perspective.
Tech continues to pursue commitments from two of Blackburn and Leftwich’s Westlake teammates, wide receiver Jaquez Smith and cornerback Nathaniel Wiggins. Both are four-star prospects in the top 200 in the country and are rated higher than any of Tech’s 13 commits. Defensive line coach Larry Knight is the area recruiter for Westlake.
May said he has been visited by or heard from every coach on the Tech staff. “I think they’ve done a good job of making Atlanta important to them,” he said. “That matters to kids.”
Following Blackburn’s commitment, Tech’s class was rated 25th nationally, two spots higher than the final ranking for the 2020 class.
Tight end Ben Postma commits: Postma — the first tight end prospect to commit to the Yellow Jackets’ 2021 signing class — is a three-star tight end from Cypress Ranch High in Cypress, Texas. Listed at 6-4 and 225 pounds, he also announced scholarship offers from Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Illinois, UCF and others. He is rated the No. 50 tight end in the country. Cypress Ranch is in the Houston area, the recruiting area of Tech wide receivers coach Kerry Dixon. Dixon also led the recruitment of a signee from Houston in the 2020 class, offensive lineman Paula Vaipulu.