Pittsburgh Tribune Update

[Captain Kangaroo]

By Kevin Gorman <mailto:kgorman@tribweb.com>TRIBUNE-REVIEWSunday, July 2, 2006 Every time a Western Pennsylvania football prospect picks a school other than Pitt, the sky-is-falling-mentality returns for those who follow local recruiting. Should it be considered cause for alarm that only three of the 14 WPIAL players who have made verbal commitments have chosen the Panthers? Not necessarily. Truth is, there is no figurative fence or, for that matter, brick wall around the WPIAL for any one school. Not every local prospect wants to play at Pitt, Penn State or West Virginia. Yet, so far, half have decided to stay relatively close to home. Score recruiting victories for Penn State in securing receivers Jon Ditto of Gateway and Nick Sukay of Greensburg Central Catholic and for West Virginia in landing offensive linemen Donnie Barclay of Seneca Valley and Gino Gradkowski of Seton-La Salle. Pitt has commitments from Keystone Oaks linemen Myles Caragein and Chris Jacobson and Thomas Jefferson safety Dom DeCicco, and is among the finalists for Valley receiver Toney Clemons, Mt. Lebanon tight end Andrew Devlin, TJ tight end Chris Drager, Perry lineman Cameron Holland and Aliquippa linebacker Brandon Lindsey. That wouldn't be a bad class. • Devlin told Scout that he is down to Pitt, Boston College, Iowa, Stanford, Virginia and Wisconsin and hopes to decide by Aug. 13. High school training camp opens the next day. • Rochester receiver Derek Moye has narrowed his choices to Pitt, Penn State, Boston College and Maryland. Central Catholic offensive linemen Stefen Wisniewski is down to Penn State, Boston College, North Carolina and Notre Dame. If Penn State lands those two, in addition to Ditto and Sukay, the Nittany Lions will have done well in the WPIAL. • Woodland Hills offensive lineman Mike Dykes (6-4, 275) has scholarship offers from Akron, Duke, Kentucky, Miami (Ohio), North Carolina and Temple. Right now, Dykes is leaning toward the Tar Heels. • Penn-Trafford linebacker Paul Stefanik (6-2, 218) has been impressive at passing camps and combines. He has a written offer from Towson State, verbal offers from Marshall and Temple and is receiving interest from Akron, Pitt, Syracuse and West Virginia. • Hempfield defensive end Greg Meisner added an offer from Cincinnati after attending the Bearcats' camp. He also has offers from Kentucky and Vanderbilt. A big senior season could net Meisner even more offers. • Penn Hills outside linebacker Aaron Williams has received scholarship offers from Akron and Toledo, which has signed Big Red stars Brandon Hefflin, Mike Hill, Barry Church and Archie Donald in the recent past. • Here's a name to remember: Blake Williamson. The Chartiers-Houston receiver had 34 catches for 537 yards and eight touchdowns last season. As a sophomore. At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, he has a sculpted physique that catches college coaches' eyes. • Central Catholic quarterback Tino Sunseri, who showed nice athleticism and a live arm at Pitt's 7-on-7 camp, has been invited to the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp in California. Sunseri is the only junior invited and will likely serve as a ball boy. He is the third WPIAL QB to pick up an invite to the Elite 11, following Tyler Palko of West Allegheny (2001) and Anthony Morelli of Penn Hills (2003).