Nick Dawkins Recaps Lasch Bash, Looks Ahead to Season

Nick Dawkins was among a host of Penn State’s 2020 commits and top targets on hand for the program’s annual Lasch Bash last Saturday.

A 6-foot-4, 300-pound offensive guard from Allentown, Pa., Dawkins committed to the Nittany Lions on April 22 and has been a vocal leader within the class ever since. He discussed the highlights of the weekend earlier this week.

“We had this big campus scavenger hunt,” he said. “That was probably one of the most fun parts because I was able to spend time with the other recruits like Aaron Gunn, Devin Willock, Ibrahim [Traore], and also RJ [Adams], who’s committed. I think that was cool because we’re all competitive, but at the same time, we’re all big O-linemen in a golf cart.”

Dawkins said he spent a lot of time speaking with Traore, who received a scholarship offer from the staff a day earlier following a good workout at camp.

“I met Ibrahim at a Rivals camp, so we’ve been talking ever since then,” Dawkins said. “It was just cool to hang out with him again. Now, to see that he has an offer, it’s even cooler because I might be able to play with him in college.”

Dawkins said he spoke with all of the uncommitted 2020 prospects on campus, including Zuriah Fisher, Theo Johnson and Willock throughout the day. He’s also been regularly communicating with Florida running backs Keyvone Lee and Caziah Holmes, both of whom are expected to announce their decisions this month. In fact, Holmes is set to announce next week, Aug. 6.

But Dawkins also been working on his own game this summer, attending three of Penn State’s camp sessions. That included the program’s final camp Friday evening. He said the opportunity to learn from his future position coach, Matt Limegrover, has been extremely valuable.

“How you place your hands and keeping your elbows in -- just implementing it into my pass blocking and my run blocking,” Dawkins said, when asked what he took away from the experience. “[Working on] great body posture, kick step, post step. It was great to work out with Coach Limegrover and Coach Reihner and see how they coach.”

Dawkins plans to enroll at Penn State in January after an early graduation from Parkland High School. He said he’s well aware of the reputation Dwight Galt has built at preparing early enrollees to succeed.

“The opportunity to come in early and train with Coach Galt,” Dawkins said, when asked why he wants to graduate early. “The biggest thing is getting an early start on classes and having that jumpstart. I’ll be able to get the playbook and participate in spring ball my freshman year, which a lot of freshmen aren’t able to do. Just getting a jump on weight lifting and the nutrition program.”

However, before he can take that next step, Dawkins still has one final season of high school ball remaining. He discussed his goals for the upcoming season and how special it will be to have one last shot at a state title with his teammates. Plus, he’s already familiar with James Franklin’s “1-0 each week” formula.

“My senior season? State championship. That’s the biggest thing. We want to go 1-0 every week and just work hard with my brothers,” Dawkins said. “There’s nothing close to Friday night lights. Of course, Beaver Stadium is amazing, but you don’t get this high school football [experience] back. It’s one of the most fun times of football. Just going out there and grinding with my brothers and making sure this is the best season I’ve ever had in high school.”