the Class of 2019 who as yet have mer-
ited that type of recognition.
Only three players from Pennsylvania's
class are part of the Rivals250 list for
2019: running back Patrick Garwo, de-
fensive end Omar Speights and safety
Tyree Smith. Garwo is from Conwell-
Egan Catholic in Fairless Hills, while
Speights and Smith both attend Imhotep
Charter in Philadelphia.
Ranked by Rivals as the top prospect in
Pennsylvania and the 154th-best
prospect nationally, Garwo is coming o=
a sophomore season in which he rushed
for 895 yards and 15 touchdowns and
was named a Philadelphia All-Catholic.
Now a junior, he rushed for close to 700
yards on 66 carries in his of Norwin, linebacker
Kyi Wright of Farrell, tight end Nick
Gallo of Council Rock South in Holland,
defensive lineman Asim Richards of The
Haverford School in Haverford and de-
fensive back/wide receiver Corey
Thomas of Pittsburgh Central Catholic.
Rucci is the son of former Penn State
o=ensive tackle Todd Rucci, who was a
second-round NFL Dra> selection by
the New England Patriots in 1993. Of the
players listed above, I believe he has the
best opportunity to move up to four-star
status. He has received scholarship of-
fers from 12 schools, including Boston
College, Duke, Michigan State, North-
western, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Penn State has not yet o=ered but is be-
lieved to be very interested.
In my opinion, Young rivals Garwo as
the state's top running back prospect.
He was an All-Ches-Mont player as a
sophomore a>er rushing for 1,450 yards
(10.1 yards per carry) and 22 touch-
downs. Thanks to Young and quarter-
back Ricky Ortega, Coatesville had one
of the best o=enses in the Philadelphia
area last season. Ortega, who is a year
behind Young, passed for 2,026 yards
and 23 TDs and was named the Ches-
Mont Player of the Year. Young has re-
ceived scholarship o=ers from six
schools, including Nebraska.
Potts is rated by Rivals as a 5.7 three-
star player. In 2016, he made the 5A All-
State team a>er rushing for 2,026 yards
and 34 TDs. Some say he is the top
player to emerge from Williamsport
since Gary Brown, who played running
back and safety for the Nittany Lions in
the late 1980s and now coaches in the
NFL.
Devonshire, Thomas and Thri> are
projected to be the top three prospects in
the WPIAL for the Class of 2019. All
have received three stars, and Thri>
might be the best prospect to emerge
from Norwin in nearly a decade.
Wright is ranked by Rivals as a 5.7
three-star prospect at linebacker. In
2016, a>er totaling 110 tackles and four
interceptions, he received Class AA All-
State recognition. He also played quar-
terback, completing 76 of 127 passes for
1,335 yards, with 18 TDs and
