Potential of Perry’s Fearbry has coaches taking notice

For a big chunk of his childhood, the only football Tyreese Fearbry played was on Xbox.

A self-proclaimed gamer, Fearbry’s biggest hobby was playing video games with friends, usually Madden, Call of Duty and NBA 2K.

“When I was younger, I wasn’t too into sports,” said Fearbry, a junior at Perry Traditional Academy.

Fearbry, though, decided to play football his sophomore year, taking the field for the first time since he was 8 years old. A year later, he’s one of the most highly recruited juniors in Western Pennsylvania and appears like he will become one of the biggest recruits the Pittsburgh City League has produced in two decades.

When it comes to physical gifts, this teen who spent about seven years living in the Las Vegas area before moving back to Pittsburgh in ninth grade has them in spades. He’s a 6-foot-5, 205-pound defensive end who appears to effortlessly speed past and maneuver his way around offensive linemen and into the backfield.

College coaches are buying in to Fearbry’s lengthy potential, as they have been busy dealing him scholarship offers. Just last week, Michigan State and Kentucky extended offers, which means he now has offers from each Power Five conference. Pitt, West Virginia and Arizona State have offered, as have upstart Coastal Carolina, Cincinnati and Toledo. Recruiting services have also taken notice. Last month, 247Sports made Fearbry a four-star prospect. He’s the only local player with four stars in the junior class.

“The kid has shown tremendous upside and has shown off the tools of his work on film. Schools are starting to notice that,” Perry coach Darnell “Pepsi” Farrow said. “He recently got his fourth star, which makes him even more noticeable. Him being 6-5, 6-6 and having that frame, he’s a very intriguing kid. Colleges know they can put 30 or 40 pounds on him.”

Fearbry said of his growing list of offers, “It’s amazing. I never thought I would become a fourstar Division I prospect.”

Few, if any, likely did when Fearbry first took the field his sophomore season. He attended Upper St. Clair his freshman year, but did not play football, choosing instead to work on bulking up. At the time, he said he was about 6-3, 165. But since seeing his first game action at Perry, Fearbry has steadily developed, according to Farrow.

“He was very raw,” Farrow recalls. “The way we practice was all new to him. But he got comfortable with it. This year, we only had five games, but with each game, you could see his level of play elevated each time. It was very noticeable.”

It took just two weeks of game film for West Virginia to pull the trigger on offering Fearbry on Oct. 9. It was his first offer. Toledo followed suit that same day, and Pitt joined the mix a few days later. The Pitt offer meant a lot to Fearbry, who said he looks up to former Westinghouse star and current Pitt defensive end Dayon Hayes.

“It was a big deal because I played against him my sophomore year. I talked to him a little bit and he told me to keep putting in the hard work. I took his advice and it paid off,” said Fearbry, who has already been invited to play in the 2022 Under Armour All-America Game.

Hayes was also a four-star prospect in high school when he had offers from the likes of Ohio State and Penn State. Farrow said that Fearbry could potentially become an even bigger recruit.

“He can be one of the biggest recruits [the City League has] had in a long time,” said Farrow.

Fearbry said he has no plans on making an early commitment, but said he has an extremely early top three of Pitt, Penn State and Coastal Carolina. Penn State is recruiting him, but has not offered.

Porter switches up

Washington’s Andre Porter had an eventful two days over the weekend. Less than 24 hours after announcing that he had decommitted from Boston College, the 6foot-3, 280-pound senior defensive tackle committed to Maryland. Porter tweeted “Staying home” in his commitment tweet. That’s because before he transferred to Wash High this school year, he previously attended Ballou High School in Washington, D. C., which is located about 20 miles from Maryland’s campus. In addition to starting on Wash High’s defensive line, Porter garnered some attention this season due to the big man getting some carries at running back and fullback.

Another Page to Pitt?

After committing to Pitt last week, Chartiers Valley basketball standout Aislin Malcolm might have turned from being recruited to being a recruiter. One of her high school teammates is fellow junior Perri Page, whose father, Julius, starred at Pitt. Page doesn’t have an offer from Pitt yet, but she did pick up two recently from Boston University and Lafayette. She also holds offers from Duquesne, Akron, Drexel, Cleveland State, St. Bonaventure, Hofstra and Columbia.

More Big Ten for Fiala

Eve Fiala, a 6-4 sophomore center at Indiana, received her third Big Ten offer over the weekend, this one from Penn State. She also has them from Ohio State and Minnesota. Fiala averaged 16.4 points, 14.5 rebounds and 3.2 blocks a game her freshman season. Pitt is among the other schools that have offered.

Baseball commitment

Kiski Area’s Derek Hald (Saint Vincent).

Soccer commitment

Highlands’ Gabe Norris (Robert Morris).