Celina safety commits to Penn State

[Txbroadcaster]

Celina safety D'Anton Lynn, the No. 15-ranked recruit on SportsDay's Area Top 100, said Saturday night that he has orally committed to Penn State.

Oral commitments are nonbinding. The first day a recruit in the class of 2008 can sign a national letter of intent is Feb. 6.

Lynn, who visited Penn State in September, said he picked the Nittany Lions over Oklahoma. Lynn made an official and an unofficial visit to Oklahoma in the last month but said the fact that Penn State offered him early was impossible to ignore.

"I felt real good about the coaching staff," Lynn said, "And I've gotten to know a lot of their commitments and have stayed in contact with them."

Lynn (6-1, 177) also was considering a visit to Florida but wanted to make his decision before the start of the high school playoffs. Celina opens the Class 3A Division II playoffs this weekend against Emory Rains.

"I don't want to be worrying about this during the playoffs," Lynn said. "It's a really important time for our team. We want to win a state championship."


http://www.hsgametime.com/dfw/sharedcontent/dws/content/topstories/stories/111107dnspohsrecruit.1fa5f6714.html

[kepdawg]

That's a long way from home

But I guess since dad's an NFL coach home can move

[Bobcat_Mom]

Good jog and good luck to D'Anton. I am so glad that he has chosen to make this tough decision prior to entering into playoff's...now his mind can be more focused on the games...We are so proud of him and for him to represent Celina.

Congrats to Cadillac!

Now Finish It!

[bobcat1]

Congrats Cadillac! Too dang far for me to drive to watch you after high school. I guess I can catch you on the tube though. Beat of luck my friend.;)

[BILLYFRED0000]

Originally posted by bobcat1
Congrats Cadillac! Too dang far for me to drive to watch you after high school. I guess I can catch you on the tube though. Beat of luck my friend.;)
Great D'anton. I wonder if the fact that Dad is in Cleveland had anything to do with it. It is not that far to Penn from Ohio. Does not matter. I kind of like it. It means we will see him on the tube some.
Then they will say from Celina TX on national tv......

[District303aPastPlayer]

Originally posted by BILLYFRED0000
Then they will say from Celina TX on national tv......

No they won't, lol. Graham Harrel was being discussed as being from B-wood last week...

[BobcatBenny]

Penn State got a good one! I hope someone from Celina posts the video of D'Anton's punt return against Whitesboro on YouTube. It was amazing.

[buff4life]

Congrats..

tell JoePa hi for me

[kepdawg]

Lynn commits to Penn State By Bill Spinks
Herald Democrat
CELINA — Football players from Celina High School can be found on numerous Division I college rosters, but there may not have ever been a verbal commitment at the school as prestigious as the one made by Bobcat defensive back D’Anton Lynn this week.

Lynn, who plays both at free safety and cornerback, has committed to Penn State, choosing the Nittany Lions over Oklahoma in the end. “He and his mother came in (Thursday) and told me,” Celina head coach Butch Ford said Friday night after his team ended the regular season 10-0.

“He liked the coach that recruited him. But I think it’s the long socks that probably did it,” Ford chuckled.

Verbal commitments are non-binding; the earliest Lynn can sign a national letter of intent is Wednesday, Feb. 6.

Lynn attended football camps over the summer at Penn State, Louisville and Southern California, and also took unofficial visits to Arkansas, UCLA, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.

It was at the USC camp that Lynn opened some eyes on a national scale.

“I did real well at that camp,” Lynn said. “I got a lot of offers after the USC camp. One big one I got was from Florida. As soon as the USC camp was over, I got an offer from them.”

The offers didn’t stop with Florida. Soon, recruiters from all over were wearing a path to the Lynn household.

“He’d already been getting interest from Texas Tech,” Ford said. “What happened was, one big one offered him, and all of a sudden the word’s out there about him.”

Lynn, who missed significant parts of his sophomore and junior seasons because of injuries, has played in all 10 games for the first time in his varsity career. Last year, he was hampered by a high ankle sprain that affected his play all the way through the playoffs.

“It feels good (now),” he said. “Last year, even when I came back, in practice if I made a wrong cut, it would hurt for the rest of practice. In games, if I made a wrong cut in the first quarter, it would hurt for the rest of the game. It was with me the whole season, and it just (stinks) playing on it. But I rehabbed hard in the offseason and it’s 100 percent.”

All that work had other benefits. Lynn, who is 6-foot-1, gained 20 pounds last offseason to 191, and still dropped his time in the 40-yard dash to 4.48 seconds.

Lynn was impressive in Friday’s 44-7 win over Whitesboro to close the regular season. He had two interceptions — on of which he returned 86 yards — and added a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown. He had a 90-yard kickoff return for a TD in Week 1 against Argyle Liberty Christian.

“I don’t know how he moves the way he does,” said Celina quarterback Seth Davis. “He’s just amazing. I don’t know what to say about him — he’s just that good.”

Lynn’s father, Anthony, was a star at Celina High School in the 1980s and played collegiately at Texas Tech before embarking on an 8-year NFL career.

Anthony Lynn got into coaching after retiring from the league and is now a running backs coach with the Cleveland Browns after spending two seasons on Bill Parcells’ Dallas Cowboys staff.

“He always gives me tips and advice, stuff like that,” D’Anton said.

Ford believes D’Anton Lynn won’t be the last Celina athlete to head for a major school outside the Big 12 South to play football.

“All the attention is good for Celina; maybe it’ll open up some doors and people will pay attention to some other people,” Ford said. “They’ve already noticed an underclassman or two.”

LINK (http://www.heralddemocrat.com/articles/2007/11/12/sports/doc4737f70de39c3514154104.txt)

[ronwx5x]

Great for D'Anton and great for the Celina program.