College coaches targeting these 15 among top recruits

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

April and May are the months that college football coaches hit the road, visiting high schools and looking for future players. This spring, popular stopping spots in the WPIAL are Penn Hills and Pine-Richland high schools.

The WPIAL class of 2019 isn’t loaded with top prospects, but both Penn Hills and Pine-Richland have a few players being recruited by FBS schools.

The Post-Gazette has come up with the top 15 college prospects from the district (WPIAL and City League) class of 2019, and both Pine-Richland and Penn Hills have three players on the list. It should be pointed out that these are the top 15 college prospects and not necessarily the top 15 “players.”

Overall, the class of 2019 in the WPIAL is looking to be a little down, at least as far as depth of major-college prospects. The class of 2018 had only 21 players sign with FBS schools and 12 of them signed with teams from power five conferences. But right now, the WPIAL has only eight players known with offers from power five conferences. A number of WPIAL players are being recruited heavily by Mid-American Conference schools. Only one WPIAL player (Aliquippa’s M.J. Devonshire) has a four-star rating from Rivals.com.

Here are the Post-Gazette’s top 15 prospects from the WPIAL and City League class of 2019:

1. ANDREW KRISTOFIC, PINE-RICHLAND, OT, 6-6, 260 — Heavily-recruited offensive lineman who said he will likely make a college decision in the next few weeks. Has narrowed choices to Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Clemson. Made recent visits to Notre Dame, Ohio State and Clemson and plans to go back to Notre Dame next week. Many perceive Notre Dame as the