2007 High school football kickoff: A great place for star-gazing

Pennsylvania high school football kicks off tonight and three WPIAL teams start the season ranked No. 1 in the state in their classifications.

But what makes this WPIAL season most unusual isn't strength of teams. It's the quality of individual talent.

Four of the top 50 players in the country are in one 60-mile area of the WPIAL. At least that's what a few well-known national scouting services say. A couple of other WPIAL players are ranked in the top 125.

The WPIAL doesn't produce as many Division I college players as it did years ago. A declining population is a primary reason for that.

But while there isn't quantity, it appears quality is back. Tom Lemming publishes the Prep Football Report and does national ratings for CSTV.

"I travel all around the country, seeing players and talking to coaches," Lemming said. "I think Western Pennsylvania is probably the best area in the country this year in terms of producing top-of-the-line talent. Probably better than some of those areas in Florida and Texas that are well-known. This reminds you of those olden days in Western Pennsylvania."

Lemming rates Jeannette quarterback-defensive back Terrelle Pryor the No. 1 player in the country. He has Gateway fullback-defensive end Shayne Hale No. 21, Aliquippa receiver-defensive end Jonathan Baldwin No. 27 and Thomas Jefferson lineman Lucas Nix No. 100.

But Super Prep magazine and Rivals.com rate Terrelle Pryor, Hale, Baldwin and Nix among the top 50 players in the country. Rivals.com ranks Terrelle Pryor No. 1, Hale 20, Nix 28 and Baldwin 35.

Two other players who appear in the top 125 in some services are Trinity linebacker Andrew Sweat and Montour running back-linebacker Christian Wilson. Sweat is ranked as high as No. 45 by ESPN and Wilson No. 108.

"To have the No. 1 kid in the country and three others in the top 50 in one area, that's just not heard of very often," said Gateway coach Terry Smith.

Joe Butler has run the Metro Index Scouting Service in Pittsburgh for three decades.

"We have 16 seniors in the WPIAL and City League who are committed to Division I colleges," Butler said. "That's phenomenal at the start of a senior season. I don't want to make an erroneous statement, but this could be -- could be -- one of the best classes in my 30 years of doing this.

"And we're an area that is losing high schools. Eastern Pennsylvania has added some high schools in recent years."

One reason Western Pennsylvania used to produce more Division I college players years ago was there were no limits on the number of scholarships a college could give. Today, Division I schools are limited to no more than 25 a year.

"There was a period in the late '80s and early '90s where there was a real decline in talent around here," Butler said. "But it's coming back up again."

Ten years ago, only 32 WPIAL and City League players signed with Division I colleges. In 2004, 33 signed with Division I schools, 31 in '05 and 32 in '06.

Twenty years ago, 43 from the WPIAL and City went Division I. Last year, 45 went Division I, including 17 to Mid-American Conference schools.

"This year is unusual because we've got a lot of kids with really good size, but who are athletic. Colleges love size," Butler said.

Butler believes coaching is one of the main reasons for the upswing in big-time talent. Smith believes it's coaching style.

"A lot of coaches around here are getting away from the 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust mentality," said Smith, who played receiver at Penn State after graduating from Gateway in 1987. "That allows kids to show themselves more and be more athletic. Colleges like athleticism in players and they love speed."

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