2024 Trib's Terrific 25 Football All-Stars

[Mikefln]

USC is good for the same reason why Peters Township & Pine Richland are now good, NA has been and continues to be good. It's the same reason why Avon in Ohio is good and why Catholic schools were good before they started recruiting. It is the reason why Fox Chaple usually isn't good.

Parents.

Parents who are approaching or already upper middle class, expects their kids to be disciplined and work hard. That is enough to win a lot of football games against more athletic teams at the HS level.

Parents who are too rich who let money raise their kids or too poor they are just trying to survive, don't instill the discipline required. The schools I mentioned have a lot of parents who demand discipline and hard work. All it takes with that main ingredient is just a few kids to be slightly above average athletes and a coach who won't beat himself.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

USC is good for the same reason why Peters Township & Pine Richland are now good, NA has been and continues to be good. It's the same reason why Avon in Ohio is good and why Catholic schools were good before they started recruiting. It is the reason why Fox Chaple usually isn't good.

Parents.

Parents who are approaching or already upper middle class, expects their kids to be disciplined and work hard. That is enough to win a lot of football games against more athletic teams at the HS level.

Parents who are too rich who let money raise their kids or too poor they are just trying to survive, don't instill the discipline required. The schools I mentioned have a lot of parents who demand discipline and hard work. All it takes with that main ingredient is just a few kids to be slightly above average athletes and a coach who won't beat himself.

I agree as the rich schools are generally good at HS football but then explain Fox Chapel and Seneca Valley, who have both sucked forever.

 

[sonofabit]

Which Hayes are you referring to?

Tikey. Quips. Stud RB if you ask me. Verballed as underclassman. Still has another year.

 

[Mikefln]

These kind f lists are nice but mean nothing other then showing where some local high school football players are going to play football next year. Few, if any of them will start and I'm willing to bet that within the next two years over half of them will transfer out of the program they committed too. I have trust in the Pitt coaching staff that they can find good players from around the country to play for the program since the local kids all think they are to good to play for Pitt.

Then you do not understand the logistics of football. Even in the NIL world of college football only Notre Dame has team that is not made up with over 50% of the team being local players mixed with those national recruits you mentioned. Maybe as NIL becomes more prevelant that may change, but for now, go look at every blue blood program and only ND is not over 50% local players. In the playoffs this year Boise State is an exception, but they are in due to being the G5 invite. Their team is made up of California leftovers. If you want Pitt to go to a G5 conference, then we can abandon local recruits.

As far as you having faith in Duzz bringing in talent from elsewhere. Why do you have that faith? Partridge is gone and no one else on staff seems up to the task. NiL money at Pitt is lacking. Where is your faith coming from?

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

Tikey. Quips. Stud RB if you ask me. Verballed as underclassman. Still has another year.

He has a similar skill set to Rushel Shell.

 

[Mikefln]

I agree as the rich schools are generally good at HS football but then explain Fox Chapel and Seneca Valley, who have both sucked forever.

I already explained Fox Chaple. They are Sharpsburg which is working class so their parents are just trying to survive to focus too much attention to their kids. Then you have Indianola and O'Hara which are middle and upper middle class just not enough to make a difference. Then you have Fox Chaole itself, which parents are letting the money raise the kids.

Those other schools you are calling rich schools are not actually rich (YES there are a few that are ubber rich in these areas, but they are the exception). They are Upper Middle Class schools. That is the sweet spot for being able to have the funds, time, and desire to put into the kids. With that comes good football TEAMS.

 

[Pittisit4me]

He has a similar skill set to Rushel Shell.

I was not impressed by the kid. I don't think he could make a patch on the ass of Kaytron Allen or Nic Singleton. He will be another one gathering splinters because Franklin will land a higher caliber running back. Similar to Martin from Belle Vernon, I'm not sure what other position he could play. Time will tell ofcourse, but I'd lay some cash I am correct.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

I already explained Fox Chaple. They are Sharpsburg which is working class so their parents are just trying to survive to focus too much attention to their kids. Then you have Indianola and O'Hara which are middle and upper middle class just not enough to make a difference. Then you have Fox Chaole itself, which parents are letting the money raise the kids.

Those other schools you are calling rich schools are not actually rich (YES there are a few that are ubber rich in these areas, but they are the exception). They are Upper Middle Class schools. That is the sweet spot for being able to have the funds, time, and desire to put into the kids. With that comes good football TEAMS.

Bottom Line - If you hire a good high school football coach and let him do his thing with buy-in from the community then you will be successful.

Naunchik - He was successful at FC until parents overstepped and he left.

Wagner - Very successful at Springdale. They weren’t very good before or after him.

Palko - WA and Mt. Lebo

Green - Westinghouse

 

[Mikefln]

Bottom Line - If you hire a good high school football coach and let him do his thing with buy-in from the community then you will be successful.

Naunchik - He was successful at FC until parents overstepped and he left.

Wagner - Very successful at Springdale. They weren’t very good before or after him.

Palko - WA and Mt. Lebo

Green - Westinghouse

Great point. Once you hire your man, get out of his way. You do your job and parent the kids, let the coach, coach the kids and only get involved if truly warrantied.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I already explained Fox Chaple. They are Sharpsburg which is working class so their parents are just trying to survive to focus too much attention to their kids. Then you have Indianola and O'Hara which are middle and upper middle class just not enough to make a difference. Then you have Fox Chaole itself, which parents are letting the money raise the kids.

Those other schools you are calling rich schools are not actually rich (YES there are a few that are ubber rich in these areas, but they are the exception). They are Upper Middle Class schools. That is the sweet spot for being able to have the funds, time, and desire to put into the kids. With that comes good football TEAMS.

What are the rich schools then?

 

[steelcurtain55.]

I know a few FC administrators and they hated the USC comparison. I tried to compare them and they were adamant that the 2 schools were very different.

 

[Upg bobcat]

So "toughness" is the reason USC kids struggle at the next level?

The only thing I know is during their heyday, they would go toe to toe with teams like the 95 Penn Hills and 94 McKeesport squad and they weren't winning the athleticism trophy in those games. When USC was scrimmaging Massilon and such they weren't doing it because they could out-athlete or finesse them.

These kids more then likely don't find as much success at the P5/P4 level has more to do with athleticism then it does toughness.

This is exactly what I was going to say -- the kids just do not have the physical tools to be elite power conference players and make it to the NFL. But that doesn't mean their soft. In fact, I would argue it shows the opposite -- that mental fortitude and other intangibles are the reason for the level of success they achieved (albeit limited success), because it was not athleticism alone.

 

[jivecat]

I hate to say this but WPIAL talent as a whole is not very strong this year. You could take every player in this list, put them on a team and they still would not beat St Joes Prep.

 

[Mikefln]

What are the rich schools then?

Shady Side Academy, Swickley Academy and schools like that. All other schools that we refer to as rich schools are mostly upper middle class, with a few rich kids sprinkled in and a few kids who parents are sacrificing to live in the district.

My son is a junior at USC and the bulk of his classmates come from families that are approaching upper middle class status and upper middle class. Yes there is a sizable portion that is upper class especially in proportion to most districts in WPA. But the rich do not make up the majority of the district. What sets USC apart from what everyone refers to as the rich schools, is that USC doesn't have a poor area and the other districts do.

 

[Pittisit4me]

The kid's not a running back. If he's a WR, he needs a lot more time to develop, more than likely. And I gather he doesn't want to play defense.

He was a great recruit, on paper, but if he gets in his own way, he'll portal out and probably wind up here and do what most of these guys do when they get here, which usually isn't much. If he's chasing NIL, he isn't going to get more somewhere else than what he's getting at PSU, given that he isn't doing anything at this time.

I don't think the recruiting is the problem with PSU not beating OSU. I think it's Franklin. They are recruiting close enough, have a huge home field advantage, and still can't get it done.

I just saw this. I would say that the recruiting is catching up to Ohio. ST. They got a solid qb and two good running backs with a pretty good defense. Where Ohio ST has crushed them and continues to out recruit them is at WR. Where is Franklin's Jeremiah Smith or Emeka Ebuka?? Franklin is no genius but, he is far outclassed at wr by Ohio ST.

 

[sonofabit]

He has a similar skill set to Rushel Shell.

Agree. But I was thinking about Miles’ path as a bench warmer. Afterall, many on here were hoping he failed at PSU.

 

[mlvnsmly]

Shady Side Academy, Swickley Academy and schools like that. All other schools that we refer to as rich schools are mostly upper middle class, with a few rich kids sprinkled in and a few kids who parents are sacrificing to live in the district.

My son is a junior at USC and the bulk of his classmates come from families that are approaching upper middle class status and upper middle class. Yes there is a sizable portion that is upper class especially in proportion to most districts in WPA. But the rich do not make up the majority of the district. What sets USC apart from what everyone refers to as the rich schools, is that USC doesn't have a poor area and the other areas do.

Well, there's the "valley". Probably not what you're considering as poor in this post though. Also, there is some section 8, albeit very limited.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Shady Side Academy, Swickley Academy and schools like that. All other schools that we refer to as rich schools are mostly upper middle class, with a few rich kids sprinkled in and a few kids who parents are sacrificing to live in the district.

My son is a junior at USC and the bulk of his classmates come from families that are approaching upper middle class status and upper middle class. Yes there is a sizable portion that is upper class especially in proportion to most districts in WPA. But the rich do not make up the majority of the district. What sets USC apart from what everyone refers to as the rich schools, is that USC doesn't have a poor area and the other districts do.

So there are no rich areas in Western PA? 15367 in Peters has by far the highest per capita income in the area.

See which ZIP codes in the Pittsburgh region have the highest earning residents

The top three ZIP codes with the highest median household income may surprise you.

www.wpxi.com

 

[Mikefln]

So there are no rich areas in Western PA? 15367 in Peters has by far the highest per capita income in the area.

See which ZIP codes in the Pittsburgh region have the highest earning residents

The top three ZIP codes with the highest median household income may surprise you.

www.wpxi.com

I didn't say that there was no rich area. I said the majority of the districts that we refer to as rich are mostly populated with upper middle class. Yes there are rich people in those areas, but they are still the minority to upper middle class. This is not a hard thing to understand.

 

[CCHS82]

We beat SU 41-13

..and they finished TWO games ahead of us in the ACC. They will end up in the top 25 too.

 

[steelcurtain55.]

I hate to say this but WPIAL talent as a whole is not very strong this year. You could take every player in this list, put them on a team and they still would not beat St Joes Prep.

The weakest part of the WPIAL is the lack of long athletic edge players on defense.

 

[President Stache]

Agree. Bench warmer U came in and swiped some good wpial players who will accumulate plenty of splinters in their ass!

Well, they got 2 and we got one?

Every year we read threads like this... every year, one of these HUGE misses does nothing (quinton martin?) and some of them go to smaller schools and do great.

It will be fine, plus half these kids heights and weights are completely wrong on here. If you pull up past fab 25 about 25% are listed as taller

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Not many lately, but doesn't mean they shouldn't recruit the possibilities. They haven't gotten a number of guys that they have wanted that did make the NFL.

Both Michigan and OSU have hit on guys around here. I think Gompers is also a potential home run.

what position does he project at? I think he played LB at PCC, is that his best spot?

 

[jivecat]

The weakest part of the WPIAL is the lack of long athletic edge players on defense.

Also….SJP has top players from 3 states. They have to do something about that team. Should not be in the PIAA for football.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

what position does he project at? I think he played LB at PCC, is that his best spot?

He’s a talented player. I think OLB in a 3-4 is his best position. He’s been injury prone. That would be my biggest concern.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I didn't say that there was no rich area. I said the majority of the districts that we refer to as rich are mostly populated with upper middle class. Yes there are rich people in those areas, but they are still the minority to upper middle class. This is not a hard thing to understand.

I mean, sure. Not every kid in those schools have millionaire parents. The majority are upper middle class as you say but aren't we splitting hairs? USC, Peters, Lebo, NA, PR, Hampton are "rich" schools. Perhaps not FC and SV due to the areas they encompass.

 

[forbesfield]

what position does he project at? I think he played LB at PCC, is that his best spot?

Sure looks like it. He's a stud.

 

[HopeandChangeforAntoons]

Do you think Stohl is soft? If he's soft, then everyone he played against what?

BTW, did you think Mark Hondru was soft?

In the heyday of USC, I don't think anyone would consider them soft. If they were soft, then Jim Render was a magician.

For all of the flyers Pitt has taken on high school offensive line recruits, I wondered if they shouldn’t have tried Stohl as a center project. He’s undersized but moves well and obviously a smart kid.

 

[pittmeister]

Lots of splinters in the works for Quinton Martin... No playing time and no NIL money...

By the end of his career, he'll have enough splinters to make a baseball bat. Maybe he can play for the Pirates...

 

[Pittisit4me]

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Lots of splinters in the works for Quinton Martin... No playing time and no NIL money...

By the end of his career, he'll have enough splinters to make a baseball bat. Maybe he can play for the Pirates...

Those two must be idiots. You can always go back and get your degree. They will take on another year of wear on the tires while risking injury. Go get your money while you can. Perhaps the culture of pedophilia and rape strangely appeals to these 2.