Hinsdale South junior defensive end Josh King, the No. 1 college football prospect in the state, plans to announce his college destination on June 6.
He listed Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State and USC as his final schools. The NCAA spring evaluation period ends in May and his most recent offer came from Baylor just days before the 6 foot, 6 inch, 230-pound junior appeared in the Nike-sponsored recruiting showcase, “The Opening.”
After announcing his finalists, King posted on his Twitter account @JoshuaKing_12: “I’d like to say thank you to every school that showed interested (sic) and took time to recruit me it really means a lot.”
King said he plans on naming his final choice at Hinsdale South in an event to be live streamed by Scout.com. He selected June 6 since it is the day after final exams end at Hinsdale South. It also is the day before the Hornets’ summer camp begins June 8.
“I always knew I wanted to be [verbally] committed and try to get this weight off my shoulders after school [is out] as soon as possible,” King said.
Recruiters from his final five schools continued to meet with Hinsdale South coach Mike Barry during the current evaluation period, King said.
King visited Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Penn State and plans on touring USC this summer. He and three other Hinsdale South teammates made trips to the training camps at Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State from March 28-29 over Hinsdale South’s spring break.
“I’ve visited a lot of schools. I’ve visited [these] four and USC is a school I’ve always liked,” King said. “That was important to me. USC is a place in my heart and I had to [add it].”
The four schools King visited all have reasons to believe it might be the one.
Michigan State received a commitment from Hinsdale Central center Matt Allen on Feb. 25, and he is King’s teammate on the Team Illinois high school wrestling team. They are scheduled to compete together in the National Duals meet May 22-25 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
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King won the Class 3A state championship at 220 pounds while Allen was the state runner-up at 285.
Spartans coach Mark Dantonio visited Barry at Hinsdale South on Dec. 11.
King met new Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh March 28 when Hinsdale South recruits toured Michigan during its spring camp. Harbaugh posed for a photo with King in the team’s indoor facility.
Downers Grove South offensive tackle Erik Swenson committed to Michigan in November.
Notre Dame already received a pledge from Nazareth defensive back Julian Love on March 21.
Irish coach Brian Kelly visited Barry at Hinsdale South on Dec. 4.
King posted a photo on Facebook wearing a No. 12 white Penn State jersey while with Penn State coach James Franklin inside the Nittany Lions’ locker room March 29. Penn State has six Chicago area players on its roster, including former Downers South receiver Javon Turner.
Franklin came to Hinsdale South on Jan. 20.
Twitter @geomwilcox