Mars’ Michael Carmody steps into older brother’s spotlight

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Michael Carmody got his driver’s license a few weeks ago, and since then has shared his family’s Mazda CX-5 with older brother Robby.

“It’s a little small for him. He’s a goofy kid. He’s his own airbag,” joked his father, Rob.

With Robby headed to Notre Dame this summer to begin classes and start his college basketball career, Michael will have the SUV all to himself.

He’ll have the family recruiting spotlight all to his own,as well.

Carmody, who just finished his sophomore year at Mars, is making his mark in football. At 6-foot-6, 270 pounds, Carmody is one of the most highly regarded rising juniors in Pennsylvania. He is rated by 247 Sports as a four-star prospect and No. 2 player in the state. He’s ranked the No. 3 tight end in the country, although most schools are recruiting him as anoffensive lineman.

Carmody is raw — he’s only played one year of high school football — but as they say, you can’t teach size. He’s also an excellent athlete, and he showed that while being the starting center on the Mars basketball team that won a WPIAL title and reached the PIAA final. Carmody said a few schools offered him on the spot after seeing him go through basketball workoutsin an open gym.

When he took the pads off for the final time last football season, Carmody said he would have never imagined having more than a dozen FBS offers by the end of the schoolyear.

“I knew I was athletic and big, but I didn’t think schools would come around and offer me like they have,” Carmody said.

Pitt was the first to offer back in January. A few more schools did the same in the ensuing months, and he was then greeted by an avalanche ofoffers in May -- nine of them, including West Virginia, Nebraska, Virginia Tech and, mostrecently, Penn State.

Carmody said all but two schools are recruiting him as an offensive tackle. Pitt likes him as a tight end and Nebraskaas a defensive end.

While still early in the recruiting process, Carmody saida few schools stand out.

“I think Pitt is the school I really like. They were the first to come through and that means a lot to me,” he said. “Penn State is huge. I have been to so many games there. I really like Virginia Tech and Duke. I visited those schools [last weekend] andthey were awesome.”

When asked if there is one school that hasn’t offered that he is hoping does, Carmody said Ohio State -- “I really liked the visit up there. I wouldn’t say it’s a dream school, but I really liked what I saw.”

And then there’s the possibility of joining Robby at Notre Dame. The Irish haven’t offered, but considering the offer list he already has -- Michigan and Wisconsin are two others -- one might not be far away.

“It would be neat to go to school with my brother. Going to a school like that and reuniting with him would be cool,” Michael said. “Two kids, two brothers from the same school from a small town like Mars would be crazy.”

Football commitment

Seton LaSalle’s George Mike(Waynesburg).