ESPN College Football Recruiting

It was a lazy Memorial Day weekend, and Dakota Royer and some of his friends were talking about Jarron Gilbert, the Chicago Bears defensive tackle who became a YouTube sensation by jumping out of a 3-foot swimming pool the previous summer.

Royer and his buddies happened to be in a swimming pool -- in four feet of water -- at the time.

So, kids being kids, they started trying to replicate the move. Royer, the best athlete on the Manheim Central (Pa.) football team and the No. 8 defensive end prospect in the ESPNU 150, soon realized there was a pretty good chance he could actually pull it off.

"We thought we'd better get a video camera," Royer said. "I wanted proof if I actually landed it."

On his fourth try, Royer nailed the landing with both feet, making himself a YouTube star in the process.

"We all pretty much just went nuts," he said.

Jumping out of pools is not yet an official drill at the NFL scouting combine, but it is a good measure of leaping ability and explosion. Royer, the linebacker/defensive end prospect who committed to Penn State in July, has no shortage of either.

States of Recruiting: Pennsylvania

For more on Dakota Royer and the heralded recruits in Pennsylvania, read Bill Conley's look at the state's top prospects and how the FBS schools are faring in the recruiting battle. Story

• Pa. prospects: Seniors | Juniors
• NittanyNetwork.com

"He's got that quickness off the ball," Manheim Central football coach Mike Williams said. "His ability to get by a pass-blocker and get to the quarterback really is his best asset."

Royer, who has recorded a 37½-inch vertical leap, became one of Pennsylvania's most highly sought-after prospects after recording 11 sacks during his sophomore season and following that up with 11 more sacks and 86 tackles as a junior in 2008. The Barons line him up on the outside of their 3-4 defensive front. On some plays, he's a linebacker. On others, he's a defensive end.

"He drops into coverage," Williams said. "But most of the time, if it's a passing situation, we like to see him off the edge."

Royer is one of the Barons' top offensive weapons -- he caught 56 passes last season and averages more than 22 yards per catch this year -- but he is a threat to score no matter who has the ball. He's scored touchdowns on interception and fumble returns and blocked punts and is looking forward to contributing on special teams at Penn State, as all young Nittany Lions defensive players must do before they crack the starting lineup.

"My specialty is pass-rushing," Royer said. "So blocking punts and field goals runs right in there with that."

Polite and easygoing off the field, Royer plays with energy and an intense competitiveness.

"Around the coaches, he's pretty laid-back," Williams said. "But you can see him in games where he goes at it pretty good with the other team's best player."

The Barons, 9-0 after Friday's 47-0 rout of Lebanon, are Pennsylvania's No. 2 Class AAA team and have recorded four shutouts in the last five weeks. The playoffs are fast approaching.

"Right now the biggest thing is keeping everybody healthy and moving forward each week," Royer said. "We don't want to take any steps backward. It's going to take ourselves to beat us or a real good football team."

Royer rooted for Penn State growing up and loved the history and tradition of the program, which is why he chose the Nittany Lions over Notre Dame and Pittsburgh and nearly two dozen other schools that made offers.

The 6-foot-3 Royer is playing at about 220 pounds this season. He said Penn State's coaches have told him that if he gets to 235 or 240 pounds, he could play as a pass-rushing defensive end in a style similar to Aaron Maybin; if he reports a little lighter, as an outside linebacker.

Royer credits the coaching and training he received from Williams and the rest of the staff at Manheim Central -- a perennial state power whose alumni include Arizona Cardinals fullback Dan Kreider, former NFL backup quarterback Jeff Smoker and current Penn State wide receiver Graham Zug, who talks regularly with Royer -- with preparing him for the next level.

"Our program is almost like a college program," Royer said. "You're in there day-in, day-out, 365 days a year. And you better come ready to work.

"Every single day over the summer we had something -- lifting, running, conditioning. When I get to college, it'll be easier for me to go through all the work that has to be done, because I'm already used to that."

Jeff Rice is a senior writer for the ESPN affiliate NittanyNetwork.com.