Ex- PSU safety transfers to Pitt
Central Catholic grad comes home
John Petrishen almost picked Pitt in January 2015. Then a three- star recruit from Central Catholic, the safety narrowed his finalists to the Panthers, Penn State and Virginia — and ultimately chose the Nittany Lions over his hometown team.
“It was right up to the end with those two schools,” Terry Totten, Petrishen’s head coach at Central Catholic, said Wednesday afternoon. “John felt at that time it was his best opportunity. But he’s a Pittsburgh guy.”
A Pittsburgh guy who has returned to his roots.
Petrishen has transferred to Pitt, the program announced Wednesday morning. After already graduating from Penn State, the safety can play immediately with two years of eligibility.
Coach Pat Narduzzi declined to say if Petrishen will be on scholarship with the Panthers. But the head coach is “happy to have him” after missing out on Petrishen four years ago.
“I think he’ll be a great addition to our football team,” Narduzzi said. “He’s a guy we offered out of high school. We tried to get him. We didn’t get him. But ultimately, we got him back. And, hopefully, he can have a great career here the last two years.”
Not much is expected of the former Nittany Lion right away. Petrishen has to wait a day or two for clearance to practice with pads. “He’s got a ways to go knowledgewise,” Narduzzi added.
But eventually, Petrishen can bolster Pitt’s depth at safety, serving as another veteran presence behind Paris Ford, Damar Hamlin and Jazzee Stocker. He can chip in on special teams. And, of course, Petrishen could offer a game- planning tip or two come Week 3, when Pitt travels to Penn State — even though Narduzzi swiftly dismissed that.
“We’ve got video tape,” the coach said.
There’s a chance Petrishen pops up on that tape. But the safety was hampered by injuries in his time at Penn State, limiting his impact. He appeared in 16 games, 13 of which came last year, primarily on special teams.
Petrishen said in a statement posted to Twitter that
Tuesday he “recently had total reconstructive shoulder surgery,” his third procedure in the past four years. “That being said, I believe a fresh start and change of scenery will pay huge dividends in all aspects of my life,” Petrishen wrote. That change of scenery, turns out, was right down Route 22.
Petrishen will play his home games at Heinz Field, five miles from Central Catholic, where he starred under Totten. The former Viking helped guide Central Catholic to a 26- 3 record in his final two seasons, which featured a WPIAL title and PIAA championship appearance his junior season. Petrishen totaled 118 tackles, seven interceptions and seven punt return touchdowns in 2013 and 2014 combined.
“He was a do- everything guy,” Totten added. “He’s the whole package.”
Narduzzi is hoping Petrishen can bring some of that playmaking ability to the hometown Panthers.
“He wanted to come back home,” Narduzzi said. “He’s fired up.”