Keystone State Recruiting Yields Great Haul For Mountaineers
December 21, 2022 03:38 PM | Football, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – When was the last time West Virginia beat Penn State for a football player it wanted from its own backyard?
We gray beards remember the name Kyle Brady. Who doesn't? He was the Cedar Cliff High star tight end from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, who was going to finally break the seal on coveted Keystone State standouts heading to Morgantown.
Well, when push came to shove and Penn State rolled out the red carpet, so long West Virginia. Brady went on to star with the Nittany Lions and had a 13-year career in the NFL with the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots from 1995 until 2007.
Derek Bochna, from just across the state line in nearby Mapletown, was all set to be a West Virginia Mountaineer until Penn State finally found out about him. Once the word was out, bon voyage Bochna.
I'm not 100% certain about this, but I'm pretty confident offensive lineman Keith Dorney from Allentown, Pennsylvania, was a player in the mid-1970s Bobby Bowden was pursuing heavily. Bowden had enjoyed some recruiting success over there with quarterback Dan Kendra and running back Artie Owens, and he thought he might be able to convince Dorney to cross the border and come to West Virginia.
That didn't happen either, of course.
West Virginia's late, great recruiter Donnie Young, who spent more than 40 years working for coaches Bobby Bowden, Frank Cignetti, Don Nehlen, Rich Rodriguez, Bill Stewart and Dana Holgorsen at the beginning of his WVU tenure, once told me that West Virginia NEVER beat Penn State for a Pennsylvania player the Nittany Lions truly wanted.
Yes, Robert Alexander was recruited by Penn State, but he was from Charleston, West Virginia. Mike Dawson, from New Martinsville, also could have gone to Penn State, and I'm sure there are other instances of players hailing from different states, but when it comes to sought-after PA guys leaving Virtue, Liberty and Independence for Almost Heaven, forget about it.
It just never happened.
That is until this year.
Neal Brown not only got Uniontown's Rodney Gallagher III to turn down an 11th-hour recruiting blitz that included pictures of him splattered all over social media wearing Penn State gear at the Michigan State game, but he also pulled All-American inside linebacker Josiah Trotter out of Saint Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia.
And, Camden (New Jersey) High edge rusher James Heard Jr. also turned down a legitimate Penn State offer to attend WVU. I add Heard to this list because he played his junior season at Saint Joseph's Prep and has deep Pennsylvania ties.
Brown and his assistants developed strong relationships with those guys, and it ultimately weathered the storm of a three-game, midseason losing streak and the short-term uncertainty that came about at the end of the season.
"Was there concern? Let me say this, I'm concerned until I get the text that says they're signed," Brown said earlier today. "I will be transparent with that. But his family did a really good job, and we were kind of in a time frame there before Wren (Baker) was hired and some of that was going on.
"They were open, and they said, 'Hey, this is what we're doing,' which I appreciated. You feel better when you have open communication instead of a member of your recruiting staff seeing a picture of it on social media. Any time it's behind your back or without you knowing it's like, 'Okay, this kid says he's committed, but that's not the case.' They were open. They took trips, and if you look at all these guys we signed, everyone here had options. We beat a lot of really good people, not just on Rodney Gallagher, but a lot of these guys."
Depending upon which rating service you read, or believe, Gallagher and Trotter are generally considered to be two of Pennsylvania's top 10 players. Had Heard remained at Saint Joseph's Prep for his senior season, he would have made it three.
Just a notch below them in the state rankings are William Penn High running back Jahiem White, Downingtown West High offensive lineman Cooper Young and Harbor Creek High offensive lineman Nick Krahe.
That's five of Pennsylvania's top 30 football players (six if you count Heard), within reasonable driving distance to Morgantown, West Virginia, who signed on the dotted line with the Mountaineers this morning. That's remarkable.
WVU communications specialists Mike Montoro and Michael Fragale do an amazing job of compiling information and stats on all of West Virginia's recruits. Gallagher's bio consists of 426 words on 21 lines, the most notable among them being his invitation to play in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.
Trotter, whose bio is nearly as long, will also be joining Gallagher in high school's biggest showcase for Division I prospects.
Those are two key guys West Virginia will be looking forward to seeing on the football field as soon as next year – Gallagher as a slot receiver and return specialist and Trotter as either an inside or outside linebacker. Football people, whom I know and trust, say Trotter is big enough, fast enough and smart enough to play any of the linebacker positions.
Heard had 18 sacks in just nine games and possesses an explosive first step coming off the edge. He's another guy who is slotted to get some playing time as soon as he gets on campus.
"When you look at recruiting sometimes it's, 'Who did we beat?' We beat a lot of really good people for several of these players and that's what you want," Brown explained. "You want to make sure you're going after the top guys."
You've got to give Brown and his staff a lot of credit for pulling these talented prospects out of nearby Pennsylvania.
West Virginia has enjoyed significant success throughout its history with Pennsylvania players, even the ones Penn State didn't want.
We gray beards remember the name Kyle Brady. Who doesn't? He was the Cedar Cliff High star tight end from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, who was going to finally break the seal on coveted Keystone State standouts heading to Morgantown.
Well, when push came to shove and Penn State rolled out the red carpet, so long West Virginia. Brady went on to star with the Nittany Lions and had a 13-year career in the NFL with the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots from 1995 until 2007.
Derek Bochna, from just across the state line in nearby Mapletown, was all set to be a West Virginia Mountaineer until Penn State finally found out about him. Once the word was out, bon voyage Bochna.
I'm not 100% certain about this, but I'm pretty confident offensive lineman Keith Dorney from Allentown, Pennsylvania, was a player in the mid-1970s Bobby Bowden was pursuing heavily. Bowden had enjoyed some recruiting success over there with quarterback Dan Kendra and running back Artie Owens, and he thought he might be able to convince Dorney to cross the border and come to West Virginia.
That didn't happen either, of course.
West Virginia's late, great recruiter Donnie Young, who spent more than 40 years working for coaches Bobby Bowden, Frank Cignetti, Don Nehlen, Rich Rodriguez, Bill Stewart and Dana Holgorsen at the beginning of his WVU tenure, once told me that West Virginia NEVER beat Penn State for a Pennsylvania player the Nittany Lions truly wanted.
Yes, Robert Alexander was recruited by Penn State, but he was from Charleston, West Virginia. Mike Dawson, from New Martinsville, also could have gone to Penn State, and I'm sure there are other instances of players hailing from different states, but when it comes to sought-after PA guys leaving Virtue, Liberty and Independence for Almost Heaven, forget about it.
It just never happened.
That is until this year.
Neal Brown not only got Uniontown's Rodney Gallagher III to turn down an 11th-hour recruiting blitz that included pictures of him splattered all over social media wearing Penn State gear at the Michigan State game, but he also pulled All-American inside linebacker Josiah Trotter out of Saint Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia.
And, Camden (New Jersey) High edge rusher James Heard Jr. also turned down a legitimate Penn State offer to attend WVU. I add Heard to this list because he played his junior season at Saint Joseph's Prep and has deep Pennsylvania ties.
Brown and his assistants developed strong relationships with those guys, and it ultimately weathered the storm of a three-game, midseason losing streak and the short-term uncertainty that came about at the end of the season.
"Was there concern? Let me say this, I'm concerned until I get the text that says they're signed," Brown said earlier today. "I will be transparent with that. But his family did a really good job, and we were kind of in a time frame there before Wren (Baker) was hired and some of that was going on.
"They were open, and they said, 'Hey, this is what we're doing,' which I appreciated. You feel better when you have open communication instead of a member of your recruiting staff seeing a picture of it on social media. Any time it's behind your back or without you knowing it's like, 'Okay, this kid says he's committed, but that's not the case.' They were open. They took trips, and if you look at all these guys we signed, everyone here had options. We beat a lot of really good people, not just on Rodney Gallagher, but a lot of these guys."
Depending upon which rating service you read, or believe, Gallagher and Trotter are generally considered to be two of Pennsylvania's top 10 players. Had Heard remained at Saint Joseph's Prep for his senior season, he would have made it three.
Just a notch below them in the state rankings are William Penn High running back Jahiem White, Downingtown West High offensive lineman Cooper Young and Harbor Creek High offensive lineman Nick Krahe.
That's five of Pennsylvania's top 30 football players (six if you count Heard), within reasonable driving distance to Morgantown, West Virginia, who signed on the dotted line with the Mountaineers this morning. That's remarkable.
WVU communications specialists Mike Montoro and Michael Fragale do an amazing job of compiling information and stats on all of West Virginia's recruits. Gallagher's bio consists of 426 words on 21 lines, the most notable among them being his invitation to play in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.
Trotter, whose bio is nearly as long, will also be joining Gallagher in high school's biggest showcase for Division I prospects.
Those are two key guys West Virginia will be looking forward to seeing on the football field as soon as next year – Gallagher as a slot receiver and return specialist and Trotter as either an inside or outside linebacker. Football people, whom I know and trust, say Trotter is big enough, fast enough and smart enough to play any of the linebacker positions.
Heard had 18 sacks in just nine games and possesses an explosive first step coming off the edge. He's another guy who is slotted to get some playing time as soon as he gets on campus.
"When you look at recruiting sometimes it's, 'Who did we beat?' We beat a lot of really good people for several of these players and that's what you want," Brown explained. "You want to make sure you're going after the top guys."
You've got to give Brown and his staff a lot of credit for pulling these talented prospects out of nearby Pennsylvania.
West Virginia has enjoyed significant success throughout its history with Pennsylvania players, even the ones Penn State didn't want.
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