Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/787374
T H E C L A S S O F 2 0 1 7 >>
WHAT HE DID A four-year letterman, Wade capped his daz-
zling high school career by returning interceptions for
touchdowns in three consecutive games as a senior, helping
Clairton win its third WPIAL Class A championship in a row.
He also played running back for the Bears and ;nished his
career with 7,079 rushing yards, the third-best total in
WPIAL history. He had 2,368 yards and scored 40 touch-
downs as a senior. During his four seasons at Clairton, the
Bears went 51-5.
WHAT HE WON You name it, Wade won it. He was a consen-
sus All-State choice, shared the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's
WPIAL Player of the Year award and played in the Under Ar-
mour All-American game, serving as captain for Team Ar-
mour. In addition to his ;ve-star designation, he is rated by
Rivals as nation's top cornerback, as well as the top prospect
in Pennsylvania and No. 11 overall prospect in the country.
WHERE HE VISITED Pick a school – any school – and
chances are, its coaching sta= would have loved to get Wade
on campus for a weekend. He was recruited nationally, with
everyone from Alabama to UCLA to Oklahoma expressing
interest. Wade visited Tennessee and West Virginia in addi-
tion to Penn State and also gave UCLA some consideration
before choosing the Nittany Lions on Dec. 17.
QUOTABLE Wayne Wade, Clairton coach: "Lamont is one of
the hardest-working kids we've had at Clairton, a great com-
petitor. He plays every down like it's his last."
STAFF SAYS Terry Smith: "Lamont will have the opportu-
nity to play on both sides of the ball. I think the focal point
through spring is to make sure he learns and understands
defensive back. ... Once he learns that, then obviously we
want to try and get him into the return game and try and get
him some spot touches on o=ense."
PHIL'S TAKE Wade enrolled at Penn State in January and is
expected to see action this spring at nickel back and/or
safety. He has sub-4.5-second 40-yard speed, excellent
press one-on-one coverage ability and is a good tackler who
provided superb run support from his cornerback position in
high school. He also was an outstanding running back, so I
wouldn't be surprised if Penn State used him on o=ense at
some point in his career. I do not expect Wade to be red-
shirted as a freshman.
■
D
ivision I prospects face plenty of pressure in the weeks
and months leading up to their commitment, but for
many of them, it's the pressure of living up to expecta-
tions that proves to be the most di>cult challenge.
College football fans always remember that top-100
prospect who was celebrated on signing day, only to
transfer out of the program a few years later because he
couldn't crack the two-deep. Those examples o?en give
rise to complaints that the star system and national rank-
ings are