Leechburg’s Lovelace: Big fish, small pond
In Braylan Lovelace, tiny Leechburg High School currently boasts one of the best athletes to ever come through the school.
But to Lovelace’s football coach, this standout junior is much more than just a special talent.
“He’s not just a special talent, he’s a special kid,” Randy Walters said. “I’ve told people, ‘I’ve been in this for 50 years, playing and coaching, and this is the best total package I’ve ever seen.’ He’s a great student. He’s got the height, the length and the strength. He’s a great leader. An incredible kid. He’s got great parents and he treats others with respect. He’s just got it all.”
That includes college coaches trying to woo him to their schools. Lovelace picked up his first Power Five offer last month, and the interest figures to continue to gain steam for a kid who stars at one of the smallest schools in the WPIAL.
Lovelace is a 6-foot-3, 195-pound running back-linebacker whose list of college offers includes Virginia Tech, Charlotte, Toledo, Army, Penn, Columbia, Brown, Bucknell, Lehigh and Fordham. The Virginia Tech offer came May 17, and for Lovelace, it was a big one.
“It was great. It’s always been a dream to be able to play big-time college football,” said Lovelace, adding that he plans on taking an official visit to Virginia Tech June 24-27.
Chances are Virginia Tech won’t be the only Power Five program to offer. Lovelace visited Penn State and worked out for coaches last Saturday. Virginia and Boston College are showing lots of interest, too. Lovelace said he has grown up liking Pitt and Michigan — his dad and grandfather have Pitt season tickets, he said — but added that Pitt is currently not showing much interest.
Most schools are recruiting Lovelace to play outside linebacker. He’s a middle linebacker at Leechburg, and is also one of the most productive running backs in the WPIAL. He was named all-conference at both positions last season. As a junior, Lovelace rushed for 1,506 yards on 171 carries (8.8 yards per carry) and scored 30 touchdowns. He also helped Class 1A Leechburg, the sixth-smallest football school in the WPIAL, reach the playoffs for the first time in 33 years.
“The thing about Braylan is, he’s carrying 200 solid pounds, but I don’t even think he’s scratched the surface of how big he is going to be,” said Walters. “He can be a solid 215-220. He has so much room to grow in the upper body.”
Lovelace also owns a 4.05 GPA and ranks fifth in his class. With that mix of brawn and brains, it’s no wonder why the interest in Lovelace continues to pick up.
“Coaches say they like the way I move, my mobility, my length and the way I hit people,” said Lovelace, also an all-section choice in basketball who averaged 18.5 points a game last season.
Lovelace’s sister, Mikayla, plays basketball at IUP. Their father, David, was a standout running back-linebacker at Leechburg in the early 1990s who went on to play at Rutgers.
Oakland star chooses
Alexa Washington plays basketball for the Oakland Catholic Eagles. In college, she’ll play for another school with a bird mascot — the North Florida Ospreys.
Washington recently committed to North Florida, a Division I school in Jacksonville. Washington is a 5-7 guard and a starter since her freshman season. She helped the Eagles reach the WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinals and the second round of the PIAA playoffs last season.
Washington, who said she also seriously considered Navy and High Point, said North Florida has been recruiting her since her freshman year. The Ospreys then offered last spring.
“That’s kind of what made it an easy choice,” Washington said. “They’ve been there since the beginning. I’ve been talking with the coaches for so long. We have a close relationship.”
Washington won’t be the first member of her family to play a sport at the Division I level. Her dad, Maurice, was a running back at Pitt in the early 1990s. An aunt, Amy Kunich Buches, was a standout basketball player at Oakland Catholic and then Pitt. Amy is married to Steve Buches, who was a star tight end at Central Catholic and Pitt in the early 2000s.
Enick to Central Michigan
As an all-conference center, Joe Enick paved the way for a potent rushing attack that helped Penn-Trafford win its first WPIAL and PIAA Class 5A titles last season. Enick still has another season left at Penn-Trafford, but he now knows where he will play when he graduates.
Enick (6-3, 280) verbally committed to Central Michigan on Monday, choosing the Chippewas over a list of suitors that included Miami (Ohio), Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Youngstown State and Duquesne. Enick is one of two Penn-Trafford juniors with FBS offers. Conlan Greene, a tight enddefensive end, has them from Central Michigan and Temple.
Canevin players commit
A pair of players who helped Bishop Canevin win WPIAL and PIAA Class 1A basketball titles last season will continue to be teammates in college. Kevaughn Price and Jhamil Fife will both attend Point Park. Price was the Post-Gazette’s WPIAL Class 1A player of the year last season. Another Canevin senior recently made his college decision, as well. Jaden Gales picked Saint Vincent. Gales and Price were first-team all-state picks.