Jerrae “Tank” Hawkins Jr., a four-star Class of 2024 receiver from Florida’s famous IMG Academy who has Penn State football in his top six, is announcing his commitment June 26, he tweeted Sunday morning.
I will be committing June 26th!
— Jerrae “Tank” Hawkins Jr 💫 (@Tankk_1k) June 4, 2023
The 5-foot-9, 165-pounder has Penn State as a finalist along with Florida, Louisville, Miami, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Penn State offered Hawkins last summer.
Back in February, Nittany Sports Now spoke with Hawkins about his recruitment, and he said that Penn State “would probably be number one” on his list.
A big reason why Penn State appeals to Hawkins is a bond he’s is building with the school’s new receivers coach, Marques Hagans.
Like Hawkins, Hagans is from Virginia originally, which doesn’t hurt. Penn State offered Hawkins at the school’s annual Lasch Bash this past July, long before Hagans got hired in January.
But after Hagans got the job, Assistant Recruiting Coordinator for Personnel Rashad Rich made it a point to facetime Hawkins and introduce him to Hagans.
Penn State consistently checking in on Hawkins is something that he greatly appreciates.
“Just the consistency of them talking to me,” Hawkins said. “Mainly that, honestly.”
Penn State has good reason to be interested in Hawkins.
Last season, playing for West Virginia’s Wheeling Park High School, he caught 67 passes for 1,173 yards and 14 touchdowns.
He has an official visit to Penn State football scheduled for the weekend of June 23. He took an OV to Miami this weekend and also has one scheduled to Florida next weekend. Along with his top six, Hawkins has offers from schools such as Alabama, Boston College, Cincinnati, Maryland, Nebraska, Oregon, Pitt, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
