Recent Penn State Football Decommits: What happened to them?

LB Derek Wingo

There was a time when Florida native Derek Wingo looked like the next great linebacker at Penn State.

He was an outspoken leader for the class, and a great player on the field. The 4-star in the 2020 class was heavily recruited by many schools, and for good reason. He was an athletic outside linebacker that was rated as the No. 36 player in the country by 247 Sports.

Wingo committed to Penn State on Christmas Day 2018. It was a great gift for James Franklin and his staff. From that point on, Wingo was an active recruiter for the class on social media. Eventually, the pressure from the local school, Florida, became too much and Wingo flipped on June 22, 2019.

Wingo saw limited action as a true freshman in 2020. He played in two games and had two tackles. Considering this was the Covid year, not many true freshmen played around college football that year due to limited practice time.

In 2021, Wingo played in five games and recorded 15 tackles. So far in 2022, he’s played in four games, recording four tackles.

The numbers have not been crazy for Wingo, but he’s still young enough to eventually reach his potential. While it doesn’t look like Penn State missed out too much, Wingo still would have given the Nittany Lions another capable option at linebacker, something they surely need.