Transfer expects big things
His coach calls his combination of size and speed scary.
A teammate calls him a human wrecking ball.
You can call him the most intriguing player in the WPIAL this season.
His name is Andre Porter, a 6- foot- 3, 280- pound senior and Power Five defensive line recruit who at times will play running back and fullback and maybe even quarterback. The newcomer for Washington High School is a transfer from a school in Washington, D. C. And he’s about the size of Mount Washington, only with the speed of a truck traveling furiously in the passing lane on I- 79.
“What impresses me the most about him is how good of an athlete he is at that size,” Washington coach Mike Bosnic said. “I’ve been impressed with everything. The first day seeing him catch the ball, I said, ‘ Wow, this kid is really good.’ And then he mentioned playing in the backfield, so we gave him the ball.”
What transpired should make Washington’s future opponents cringe. Porter, a Boston College commit, carried the ball three times during his team’s first scrimmage against Jefferson- Morgan last Friday. Videos of two of the runs quickly made their rounds on social media. On one, he took a handoff, sped downfield, high- stepped a defender, hurdled another, and then stiff- armed one more before plowing into the end zone. He didn’t score on the other, but it took about half of the defense to slow him down and tackle him after a big gain.
“He’s just a human wrecking ball,” teammate Amari Miller said, “just like Jerome Bettis.”
Only bigger and faster. If Bettis is the Bus, Porter must be the Tank or Tractor Trailer.
Sure, this wasn’t Central Catholic or Thomas Jefferson that Miller was running against. Jefferson- Morgan plays in the WPIAL’s smallest classification. Still, Porter’s huge stature and athletic ability are undeniable.
“A kid with that size and that speed, you just don’t see that around here,” said Jefferson-Morgan coach Aaron Giorgi.
Porter is new to Washington High School, but not to Washington, Pa. Porter’s uncle lives there, and he would often spend summers with him before returning to Washington, D. C. just before the school year to live with his mother. It was there where he attended Ballou High School. Porter said he was close to moving to Washington a few times in the past before finally deciding to go through with it this time.
“I guess it was just time for me to leave D. C.,” Porter said. “Lots of violence in my neighborhood. The murder rate there went sky high.”
If Porter had stayed in D. C., he wouldn’t have played high school football again until 2021. In July, the D. C. State Athletic Association postponed fall sports due to the COVID- 19 pandemic. Their plan is for schools to begin football practice Feb. 1.
Not playing this season would have been a big blow to a big man considering Porter has not played since his sophomore year. He said he struggled academically his sophomore year and, despite going to summer school before his junior year, was declared academically ineligible.
You can only imagine how excited Porter was to play football against another team, even if it was just scrimmage. It had been two years since he last did it. This gave him an outlet to unleash a lot of pent up energy.
“I was playing bully ball the whole day,” he said.
Added Miller: “I honestly didn’t really expect it to be like that, but he’s a great athlete, so I’m not really surprised.”
Miller, a senior fullback and middle linebacker, is one of Porter’s closest friends on the team. Those two will share carries with a deep group of talented of runners that also includes Tayshawn Levy, Michael Allen and Shaliek Cox.
Washington has one of the WPIAL’s premier programs. The Little Prexies went 13- 1 and reached the WPIAL Class 2A championship last season. Over the past six seasons, they are 68- 7. They begin this season ranked No. 2 in the WPIAL. The Little Prexies travel to No. 3 McGuffey in their opener Friday.
Porter committed to Boston College in May. He also had offers from Pitt. Louisville, Maryland and several others. Porter said Pitt is still recruiting him and there’s always a chance he could end up signing elsewhere.
In college, Porter will likely play defensive tackle. He’ll play that position and sometimes defensive end for a Washington defense that returns four starters.
“He’s great defensively, a big part of the defense,” Miller said. “He keeps the front moving and is a great pass rusher.”
But, as talented of a defensive lineman Porter is, it’s his play offensively that could garner more attention this fall. Bosnic said his plan is to use Porter “all over the place,” which could include running back, fullback and tight end.
Oh, and maybe another position, too.
“They’ll probably put me in at QB,” Porter said.
Bosnic seemed a bit surprised to hear of Porter’s quarterback aspirations, but he wasn’t about to rule out the possibility of the big man slinging the ball around here and there.
“Well, I wouldn’t doubt him,” said Bosnic, who is 6 feet 7 and was an offensive lineman and tight end at Pitt. “Everything he’s said, he’s done so far. For a big man to have that kind of athleticism is really something.”