Waiting game
Some of WPIAL’s top recruits are undecided on college
For Donovan Jeter, the summer has been about trimming.
No, Jeter doesn’t have a landscaping job. He has been busy trimming weight, his list of colleges and even sports that he will play as a senior at Beaver Falls High School.
Jeter and Clairton’s Lamont Wade are the most heavily recruited football players in the WPIAL class of 2017 who have not yet made a college decision. Jeter, who plays defensive end, recently narrowed his list of colleges to five — Pitt, Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama and Tennessee. He wants to make some official visits to schools this fall and will make a decision some time during the season.
Jeter looks mighty different than the player of a year ago. He was 6-5, 295 pounds for his final game of the 2015 season. Now, he is 250.
Part of the reason for the weight loss, according to Jeter, is different eating habits. But he also said he has seen positive results from working out regularly with Terry Grossetti, who has a training center for athletes in New Castle.
“Basically, I’ve lost all my stomach fat,” said Jeter. “My arms are still big and my chest is still big.”
Now, about the trimming of sports for Jeter. He said it is now definite he will not play basketball for Beaver Falls next season. Instead, he will graduate early and enroll at a college for the spring semester. Jeter has been a basketball starter since his freshman year, has more than 1,000 points and helped the Tigers win a WPIAL title a year ago. Beaver Falls was expected to be strong again next season with Jeter and 6-7 Josh Creach.
“Playing basketball really doesn’t benefit me at this point,” Jeter said. “I won’t waste my time playing basketball when I can work on my craft and be ready to play [football] at the next level.”
Jeter is part of a Western Pa. class of 2017 that has some highlevel recruits, but also some depth in terms of talent. Close to three dozen players from the WPIAL and City League have either made verbal commitments or been offered scholarships by FBS colleges. Three have already committed to Notre Dame.
If 30 or more players sign, that would be a sizable increase from only 22 in 2016 and 21 in 2015. In 2014, 32 signed and only 18 in 2013.
Here is a look at some of the more heavily recruited players in the class of 2017 besides Jeter:
David Adams, LB, Central Catholic — Committed to Notre Dame in the spring. Had many scholarship offers, but Pitt, Penn State, Stanford were his other finalists. Many others offered. Rivals rates him a fourstar inside linebacker.
Mason Cholewa, OL-DL, Montour — Cholewa is 6-7, 265, was recruited mostly as a defensive lineman and committed to Central Florida this week. He had 15 offers and visited some schools this summer before picking UCF over Temple and others.
Paris Ford, DB-WR, Steel Valley — Transfer from SetonLaSalle. A highly-rated player who committed to Pitt during junior season and has stuck with commitment. Had many other offers from big-time colleges. Rivals ranks him the No. 55 player in the country.
Noah Hamlin, WR-DB, Clairton — A versatile player who has about a dozen offers. Boston College, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Bowling Green and Toledo are some of the schools he is considering. Most schools like him as a WR.
Curtis Harper, DT, McKeesport — Harper has close to 20 scholarship offers and hopes to have a top five soon. He
wants to make a decision before the start of the season and Syracuse, Boston College, Iowa State, Colorado State, Western Michigan, Temple and Toledo are among the schools that have offered.
Kurt Hinish, DL, Central Catholic — Committed to Notre Dame two days after teammate Adams. Also had offers from Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Tennessee and Mississippi, among others.
Gabe Houy, OL, Upper St. Clair — Houy might make a decision soon, and Pitt and Maryland are his top choices. Pitt might be tough to beat. Illinois, Louisville and Wake Forest are among the other schools that have offered.
Josh Lugg, OL, North Allegheny — Made verbal commitment to Notre Dame before the start of his junior season. Pitt, Penn State, Wisconsin, UCLA were some of the other schools that had offered when he committed.
DeWayne Murray, RB, Steel Valley — With Murray and Ford, Steel Valley’s offense will have a potent one-two punch of future Division I players. Murray’s college list is headed by a few MidAmerican schools and also West Virginia and Cincinnati.
Kenny Robinson, WR-LB, Imani Christian — Robinson was unquestionably the top prospect in the City League before transferring from University Prep. At 6-3, 205, he could end up on offense or defense in college. Pitt, West Virginia and Iowa State are three of the schools he likes and all three have offered.
Malik Shepherd, WR-DB, Beaver Falls — Shepherd might not be ready to go when official practice starts in mid-August. He had surgery on his left foot July 12 and hopes to be ready by the start of the season. The injury was sustained in a summer basketball game. Shepherd is being recruited as an “athlete,” meaning he could play a few different positions. West Virginia, Iowa, Akron, Toledo and Temple are the five schools that have offered.
C.J. Thorpe, OG, Central Catholic — Committed to Penn State in the spring. Said his other top two choices were Auburn and Michigan, but also had numerous other offers from big-time schools. Rivals rates him a four-star player.
Lamont Wade, DB, Clairton — Rivals ranks Wade the No. 10 player in the class of 2017. A few months ago, Wade had narrowed his list to 10 (Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Ohio State, Tennessee, Alabama, UCLA, Virginia Tech, Mississippi State and Duke). If he doesn’t stay in state, Ohio State, Tennessee and Alabama are the oddson favorites.
Zane Zandier, LBDB, Thomas Jefferson — Some schools like Zandier as a defensive back and some as a linebacker. Visited Virginia recently. West Virginia, Northwestern, Syracuse and Boston College are among the other colleges he likes that have offered.