Recruitment Soaring for North Allegheny’s Khalil Dinkins

When talking about the big names still available in the WPIAL’s Class of 2021, the names Derrick Davis, Donovan McMillon, Elliot Donald and Dorien Ford are mentioned most frequently.

Another name that’s started to pick up a lot of attention over the last few weeks is North Allegheny’s Khalil Dinkins. If that last name sounds familiar, his father, Darnell, stared at Schenley High School before attending Pitt and then went on to have a eight-year career in the NFL.

Dinkins (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) is a three-star athlete that is mostly getting recruited to play wide receiver. Although his recruitment has gone somewhat under that radar, Dinkins has an amassed impressive list of Power Five offers from Virginia, Boston College, Michigan, Penn State, Syracuse, Maryland, Georgia Tech and Pitt.

The most recent offer came from James Franklin and Penn State, which has opened a lot of people’s eyes. Pittsburgh Sports Now had a chance to talk with Dinkins about recruitment and any talks he’s having with his hometown team, the Pitt Panthers.

“I’ve really been blessed to get these offers and receive the attention that I’m receiving from all these schools,” Dinkins said. “I’m just going to keep working hard and do what I’ve been doing on the field and see what happens. I was very excited when I got the Penn State offer from them and felt very blessed.

“As far as in college, I feel my best position would be wide receiver. A lot of schools are recruiting me as an athlete with the possibility of playing either receiver, tight end or outside linebacker. I feel my best position is at receiver, though.”

Since some recruiting services haven’t listed it and he’s never mentioned it on Twitter, many people have wondered whether or not Dinkins has an offer from Pitt.

“Yes, I do have one,” Dinkins told PSN. “The story behind that is, after I posted my Virginia offer (his first Power Five offer), my dad didn’t want me to post my offers anymore. Then a little bit after Virginia offered, I got the Pitt offer so I didn’t post the offer because I was just listening to my dad. He told me that he didn’t want other schools offering me just because of other offers I had and wanted them to offer me because of what I’ve done on the field. So, I didn’t post the Pitt offer. A bit after that, he then said it was OK if I started to post offers but that was a bit after I got the offer from Pitt.”

Now that we know Pitt has indeed offered Dinkins, I asked him how much they’ve been in touch and his thoughts on possibly attending the same school as his father.

“I hear from them all the time and my lead recruiters are Coach [Rob] Harley and Coach [Pat] Narduzzi. Pitt is a good school and obviously I have a connection because my dad played there. Pitt is a good school but I’m going to check out all schools and see what they all have to offer.”

More on the WPIAL Class of 2021.

Is the fact that his father played there a plus for Dinkins or would he possibly like to create his own name and legacy at another place and not have constant reminders about his dad?

“My dad has talked to me about it,” said Dinkins. “But no, it wouldn’t bother me at all attending the same school as my dad.”

Like many players this time of the year, Dinkins is lining up March visits and told PSN that two that are already planned will be to Penn State and Michigan. In terms of other schools that haven’t offered yet but that are showing interest, Dinkins named Rutgers, Cincinnati, Michigan State and Wake Forest.