Oh, Hello: Three-Star Tennessee WR Jamir Dean Commits To Penn State

THE SKINNY

Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 175 pounds
Hometown/High School: Alcoa, TN (Alcoa H.S.)
Ranking: ★★★ (89 Rivals — No. 45 wide receiver)
Notable Offers: Arkansas, Duke, Louisville, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin

HIGHLIGHTS

OUTLOOK

On March 27th, Penn State had zero commitments and there was a semi-freakout of “Can Matt Campbell recruit on a high level?” Well, just 30 some days later, the Nittany Lions are firing on the recruiting trail, with Jamir Dean their 14th commitment now. This figures to be a 30+ person class, so we’re not even halfway through, but Campbell and his staff have done a really nice job playing catchup given their coming from a different school.

As for Jamir Dean specifically, a lot to like here. He’s quite skinny right now so he’ll need to add some major weight, but he’s 6-foot-2, and has elite speed. Just yesterday, he ran a 10.8 flat in the 100M so he is “fast-fast.” Football wise though, it’s not just that he’s fast, it’s that he hits top gear very quickly. The acceleration is evident constantly throughout the film.

Dean lines up both inside and outside for his high school team, but he largely serves as their deep threat which makes sense given his size and speed. I think what sticks out about Dean compared to other taller prospects that had great speed, is that Dean isn’t strictly an athlete playing football. He’s got really good ball skills on deep passes, and just has that innate ability to track balls that’s tough to teach. He isn’t Odell Beckham Jr. out here snagging everything with just his hands, but there’s real football acumen there for Dean where he isn’t *just* a really fast kid.