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August 30, 2010

The Talent Levels Off

Filed under: Football,Honors,Players — Chas @ 9:00 am

Over the past ten years or so, it has become a little more noticeable that the talent level of high school football in Western PA has started to drop. It’s not a slam. It isn’t that there isn’t still plenty of solid players being produced and even stars. But there is definitely less big name talent than in the past.

Some of it is simply the population trends that has the area (and the whole state) losing population. Some of it is simply cyclical as there is a down time in the talent.

Still nothing drove the drop-off home like the P-G’s strange piece on the offensive talent in the region and its impact on college football. The players it hyped were Pitt’s Dion Lewis and Jon Baldwin, WVU’s Noel Devine, PSU’s Evan Royster and Terrelle Pryor of OSU. Of those players, only Baldwin and Pryor are actually from the area. Devine is from Florida, Lewis — New York and Royster is from Virginia.

If one of these players wins the Heisman, it would mark a return to a day when this part of the country turned out the best offensive skill players college football had to offer.

Between 1973-76, this region had a firm stranglehold on the Heisman

Penn State running back John Cappelletti won it in 1973, Ohio State running back Archie Griffin grabbed it in 1974 and ’75, and Pitt running back Tony Dorsett claimed it in 1976.

So, um, Western PA is now claiming Columbus and Morgantown?

There’s some excellent talent on the teams the P-G covers, and of course there is plenty of interest in Pryor because of his local ties. Yes, there’s a possibility of seeing the Heisman be tied in to the area this year. Still, couldn’t there have been a less awkward way to shoehorn them into a preview piece?





Are NYC alum gathering to watch the Utah game?

Comment by shaef 08.30.10 @ 11:35 am

Probably OT:
link to kcchiefs.com

Comment by BigGuy 08.30.10 @ 12:50 pm

Look who wrote the talewnt article…colin dunlop. he’s an ass clown.

Comment by Fred 08.30.10 @ 1:00 pm

capelletti is from upper darby, not western pa

Comment by scoocher 08.30.10 @ 9:23 pm

I realize I’m in the minority here but Pennsylvania lags behind Texas in football talent development because players here in Texas have spring practice and spring games. Teams play 10 regular season games. The PIAA and WPIAL are uptight and out-of-touch. True, there is more raw talent in Texas because we have a larger population and we are growing daily, but why are the stodgy old adults keeping kids from competing at the highest levels in football? I follow the WPIAL and am surprised at some of the obvious handicaps which could easily be done away with.

Comment by TonyinHouston 08.31.10 @ 12:07 am

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