Here is an excerpt from the article last summer when Dickens committed to UConn. This may shed light on why this was brought to the press and made a bid deal out of--I have bolded the relevant parts:
But the biggest resource that helped Dickens with his collegiate decision was his relationship with Raritan alumnus and New York Giants safety Bennett Jackson, who he now has multiple ties to.
"I'm very close with Bennett Jackson," said Dickens. "He has been kind of a mentor for me throughout the whole process. He actually played for Coach Diaco as well when he was at Notre Dame."
Jackson graduated from Raritan in 2010, before ascending to Notre Dame, where he played until 2013, accumulating 64 tackles, including five for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, two interceptions and three pass breakups as a senior.
He was then drafted by the Giants with the 187th pick in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
"Once I picked up the first offer, everybody wanted me to commit right away," said Dickens. "But Bennett gave me valuable information about coach Diaco and the whole staff, and how honest they all are. And he was just like a very big help to me. And it was great getting information from someone who had already been through it all."
ThisIsUConnCountry@MattSchonvisky
