Lauer not drawing big-school interest
conference.
“It’s a little perplexing to me,” Botta said of Lauer’s recruitment.
Although Lauer has been terrific this season, he only has scholarship offers from FCS schools Duquesne and Robert Morris. On one hand, Lauer said the lack of attention from big-time colleges doesn’t bother him. But on the other hand, he said, “If I got an offer from a bigger school, it would be nice to have that choice.”
Penn-Trafford is the No. 1-ranked team in WPIAL Class 5A and beat Franklin Regional last Friday. PennTrafford coach John Ruane is one of the opposing coaches who believes Lauer could play on the FBS level.
“At linebacker or elsewhere,” said Ruane. “He’s a difference maker. He is great at getting off blocks and making tackles. And when he hits you, you feel it. I think his weekly productivity and physicality make him very impressive.”
Gateway has yet to play Franklin Regional this year, but Gateway coach Don Holl has watched Lauer on film.
“It would be OK if he had turf toe or something and didn’t play in our game this year,” Holl said with a laugh. “The thing is, I’ve coached some good guys over the years who maybe weren’t can’t-miss, allworld guys. But I’ve coached guys who I think are good prospects and they don’t get a lot of love from colleges. There are others who don’t play the part, and they get recruited. The thing is, he’s a big kid and rangy and I can’t imagine there isn’t someone who realizes he has the suddenness to run or tackle, even with his hand down as a defensive end or tackle.”
Those who know Lauer call him a throwback to the days when middle linebackers were big and nasty and stuffed the run with excellence. He could be Dick Butkus from decades ago, or Brian Urlacher. Lauer also plays center on offense.
“You talk about throwbacks?” Botta said. “Probably his two favorite places to be in the world are on a football field and a tree stand for hunting.”
Lauer said, “I’m an outdoorsy type of kid.”
But some believe Lauer might be an example of the type of player who doesn’t fit the ideal major-college inside linebacker these days. College coaches want speed, even at the middle linebacker.
“They sometimes feel better about a kid who is 6-3, 245 and runs a 4.5 40, rather than a kid who maybe made 20 or more tackles in a game,” said Holl.
Botta said, “But you still have to have people in college to stop the run. We put a lot of kids in college, maybe six to eight a year at different levels. I know where our kids can play. This kid can play. West Virginia came in and said you could make him a ‘mike’ [middle] linebacker. Some people question his speed for that position and there are a couple question marks. But what they don’t account for is his tenacity. You see him running sideline to sideline and making plays. That’s impressive for a 6-3, 245-pounder.”
Lauer has caused some unforgettable moments for Botta. A number of coaches say they devise schemes just to block Lauer.
“There was one team that was sending three guys to block him,” said Botta. “That game where he broke his foot last year? He still played the whole second half on offense and defense was disruptive.”
Lauer was bothered by a sprained ankle early this season, but his tackles total in the first four games were 21, 19, 19 and 22.
Then again, this is a perfect example of how college coaches don’t care if you set tackling records, or passing and rushing records.
“No matter where I go, I just want to play,” said Lauer.