Jacobs, Achumba Solid on Penn State Football Commitments
Competing Tuesday at the Rivals100 5-Star Challenge, Penn State commitments - offensive lineman Golden Achumba and linebacker Curtis Jacobs - talked about the Nittany Lions, the recent spate of decommitments, and what's next.
ATLANTA - Rivals250 linebacker Curtis Jacobs wanted to come out and show he could compete with some of the best linebackers in the country Tuesday.
He did that and followed it with an affirmation of his own commitment to the Penn State football program.
Wrapping up a month of June that has included four decommitments - including fellow Rivals 5-Star Challenge participants Derek Wingo and Aaryn Parks - Jacobs addressed his own perceptions of them.
“It’s definitely something that’s eye-opening,” said Jacobs. “But for me, when I committed, I talked to Coach Pry and I talked to Coach Franklin and I really believed in what they had, what the plan was, what their plan for me was, how to get me to the NFL. So I’m solid right now, believing in them and them believing in me.”
Jacobs wasn’t alone in extending the message Tuesday following the conclusion of the event.
Standing alongside Jacobs offensive lineman Golden Achumba, himself the No. 10-ranked guard in the country according to Rivals.com, issued the same sentiment.
“I’m also solid,” said Achumba. “Before I committed, I made up my mind, when I commit to a school… that’d be the last school that I commit to.
“The other guys leaving, it is what it is. Things happen, but the recruiting process isn’t over and we can still come back and get those guys.”
Themselves confident that Penn State’s recruiting is “about to get crazy,” Jacobs added that hard feelings haven’t developed toward those who have made decisions to open up their recruitment or have already landed at another school.
“There’s no love lost with them,” said Jacobs. “Wingo is my guy. Parks is my guy. I understand that they gotta make decisions for them, for their families. I wouldn’t want anybody telling me about my decision.”
Jacobs did, however, have a plan in mind for his Rivals 5-Star Challenge performance.
Hoping to compete with some of the best players in the country on both sides of the ball, and alongside some of the best coaches in the country, Jacobs said he felt like he did exactly that.
“I feel like I did well,” he said. “I feel like I came out here, did my thing, showed what I can do. It was a big thing for me to show that I could really bang with the best linebackers in the country and think I came out here and did that.”