Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/590325
year, but also because the talent pool in 2017 will be deeper than usual. Many recruiting analysts, myself in- cluded, believe the Western Pennsylva- nia Interscholastic Athletic League will have its best class of prospects in close to a decade. On my list of the state's top 25 prospects in 2017, five of the top six players and six of the top 10 com- pete in the WPIAL. Those players, all of whom have received either four- or five-star ratings from Rivals, include linebacker David Adams of Pittsburgh Central Catholic, athlete Paris Ford of Seton LaSalle, defensive lineman Donovan Jeter of Beaver Falls, offensive lineman Joshua Lugg of North Alleghe- ny, offensive tackle C.J. Thorpe of Pittsburgh Central Catholic and cor- nerback/running back Lamont Wade of Clairton. Wade is rated by Rivals.com as a 6.1 5ve-star recruit and the top cornerback prospect in the country for the Class of 2017. My No. 2 player in Pennsylvania, he was a 5rst-team PIAA Class A All- State selection on both sides of the ball following a sophomore season in which he was credited with more than 60 tack- les and 5ve interceptions and also set a WPIAL Class A single-season rushing record with 2,765 yards and 47 touch- downs. Adams, Ford, Jeter and Thorpe all re- ceived at least a 5.8 four-star ranking from Rivals. They will end up being na- tionally recruited, as will Wade and Lugg. Outside of the WPIAL, the player to watch is running back D'Andre Swi7 of St. Joseph's High in Philadelphia. Swi7 is my No. 1 prospect in Pennsylvania's Class of 2017 and the No. 2 running back in the country according to Rivals. In the 30-plus years I've followed na- tional recruiting closely, I've never seen a more complete running back emerge from Pennsylvania. Swi7 has everything you would ever want from a running back. He has sub-4.5-second 40-yard speed, runs with power, breaks tackles, can make tacklers miss with moves, blocks well and has the hands of a wide receiver. Part of a three-man rotation at running back last season, Swi7 gained 1,045 yards on 137 carries (7.6 yards per carry) and scored 13 rushing touchdowns. He also totaled 33 catches for 495 yards and two touchdowns and had two more scores on kicko6 returns. You couldn't ask for a better running back pack- age at 5-foot-10, 208 pounds. One other interesting aspect of Penn- sylvania's Class of 2017 is that 10 of my current top 25 prospects reside in the state's southeastern corridor. It's true the WPIAL might have its best recruit- ing class in a decade, but for the most part, southeastern Pennsylvania is pro- ducing the bulk of the state's Division I talent – a trend that has not gone unno- ticed by Penn State. At this early stage in recruiting, Franklin and his sta6 have already ten- dered scholarship o6ers to nine of my top 10 players in Pennsylvania. That list includes: Swi7 (No. 1), Wade (No. 2), Adams (No. 3), Ford (No. 4; Pitt verbal), Jeter (No. 5), Lugg (No. 6; Notre Dame verbal), Thorpe (No. 8), wide receiver Mark Webb (No. 9) of Warminster Arch- bishop Wood and defensive end Damion Barber (No. 10) of Harrisburg. Several of the fast-emerging players on my Class of 2017 list are: wide receiver/athlete Aamir Brown (No. 11), safety Collin Smith (No. 12), linebacker Kenny Robinson (No. 13), o6ensive line- HOT CORNER Wade is a five-star recruit after shin- ing on both sides of the ball as a sophomore at Clairton High. He's rated the top cor- nerback prospect nationally in the Class of 2017. Pho- to courtesy of Ri- vals.com