Posted on Tue, May. 13, 2008
Penn State landed its sixth recruit for the Class of 2009 when Derrick Thomas, a cornerback and wide receiver, committed to the Nittany Lions on Sunday.
The 6-foot, 175-pound Thomas, from Greenbelt, Md., became the third high school junior to commit last weekend after attending the Nike Camp in State College. Cornerback Darrell Givens and safety Stephen Obeng-Agyapong gave the Lions their pledges on Saturday.
Thomas was a two-way star at Eleanor Roosevelt High last season. A classmate, cornerback Stephon Morris, is also mulling a scholarship offer from Penn State. Lions receiver Derrick Williams is a product of Eleanor Roosevelt.
"Derrick was somebody we looked up to coming from the eighth grade into ninth grade," Thomas said at the Bigtime Football Showcase at Rutgers on Thursday. "When he went to Penn State, that had an effect on me."
Another factor was assistant coach Larry Johnson, Thomas' recruiter. Johnson has developed into one of the Lions' top salesmen.
"I can talk to him about a lot of things," Thomas said Thursday. "He's a really good guy."
Contact staff writer Jeff McLane at 215-854-4745 or jmclane@phillynews.com.