2-sport North Allegheny star excited to play college ball at Drake

By: John Grupp
Saturday, June 28, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Whether he was defending passes in football or soaring through the air in track, Nick Humphries left his mark at North Allegheny.

Now he’s ready to make the leap all the way to Des Moines, Iowa.

The 2025 NA graduate departed in late June for Drake, where he will begin preparation for his first year with the Division I FCS football program.

“I’m very excited,” Humphries said. “It’s a new chapter in my life. Closing this one and opening a new one is always good. As a young kid, I always had a dream to play Division I football. This is very big for me, so I’m excited.”

Humphries, who was part of WPIAL champion teams in football and track, was set to leave for Drake on June 26 to start orientation, move into his dorm room and begin summer conditioning.

A lot has changed since Humphries, a 6-foot, 170-pound two-time all-conference defensive back, committed to Drake in October. Former Bulldogs coach Todd Stepsis departed in early December for Northern Iowa, and Joe Woodley, who had led crosstown Grand View to the 2024 NAIA national championship, was hired at Drake on Dec. 23.

While all of the coaches who had recruited Humphries are gone, he didn’t waver in his commitment to the school.

“When I first heard the news, I was kind of shocked,” he said, “but at the same time, I was firm in my decision with Drake. In my household, academics always come first. Drake has excellent academics. … I knew they were getting good coaches, so it wasn’t really a problem for me.”

Humphries, who carried a 3.5 GPA at North Allegheny, earned an academic scholarship to Drake and plans to major in data analytics at the 4,800-student school. The Bulldogs play in the Pioneer Football League, the only nonscholarship, football-only conference in the FCS. The lone other WPIAL product on the roster is former Canon-McMillan defensive back Chris Davis Jr.

Humphries had attended a football camp at Drake last summer and been offered — his first Division I deal — shortly afterward. He had also looked at Robert Morris and Howard.

“The reason why I picked Drake was, first and foremost, academics,” said “They have very good academics. I liked the people around there. They were very welcoming, and I liked the community and the environment. It was very nice.”

Humphries had a nice career at North Allegheny, lettering four times in track and twice in football.

He led the WPIAL Class 6A runner-up Tigers with 11 pass breakups and returned two punts for touchdowns in his senior football season.

This past spring, he finished third in the long jump at the WPIAL Class 3A Track and Field Championships and anchored the fourth-place 400 relay team that broke a 46-year-old school record with a time of 42.37 seconds.

He also placed second in the long jump at the Baldwin Invitational with a personal-best leap of 23 feet, 3 inches, one of the best marks in school history by anyone not named Ayden Owens.

NA track coach John Neff said Humphries was much more than just a football player using track season to stay in shape.

“Football is definitely his No. 1 sport, but he attacks track and field as if it were his No. 1 sport, too,” Neff said. “He was a great teammate, and he was really interested in the team’s success. I couldn’t have asked for any more out of him.”

Humphries’ track days are over; he’s football-only at Drake. He said the new coaching staff has reached out, and he was encouraged by what he heard from cornerbacks coach Jacob Brown and safeties coach AJ Vasquez.

“They’ve been calling me, texting me and keeping me up to date,” Humphries said. “It’s going good, and I’m very excited to get there and start my new journey, my new chapter, and see how it goes.”

Tags: North Allegheny