2025 Trib 25 Preseason Football All-Star Team: Central Catholic’s Ashton Blatt

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, July 11, 2025 | 8:01 AM

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Editor’s note: Each day through Aug. 3, Trib HSSN will profile one member of the 2025 Trib 25 preseason high school football all-star team.

Ashton Blatt might be a little bit biased, but the Central Catholic senior says there’s no position on defense better than edge rusher.

That’s his position.

“You have to be the most versatile and athletic, and you have to be aggressive,” said Blatt, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound North Carolina recruit. “I’m always trying to get to the quarterback. Going up against linemen that are sometimes twice your size, you have to put your body on the line. I like hitting. That’s why I love it so much.”

Blatt earned second-team all-conference honors at defensive end last season with seven sacks and 13 tackles for a loss. He also recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown, accomplishing it all as a newcomer to the job.

Previously, he was a quarterback. But Blatt said coaches proposed a position change, especially because he already tried to play quarterback like a linebacker.

“I would always try to lower my shoulder when I’d scramble on the scout team,” Blatt said. “My coaches were like, ‘You’ve got to take the easy way out. Just slide.’ I would try, but my body would never allow me. I always just want to hit someone. They said, ‘Let try defense out.’ ”

Blatt liked the idea.

“Honestly, I was just trying to get on the field,” he said.

College recruiters took notice. Duke and Michigan State offered him scholarships in October, a few weeks before Blatt helped Central Catholic win a WPIAL Class 6A title. His scholarships list grew to include close to two dozen FBS schools.

“Obviously, he has the physical attributes,” Central Catholic coach Ryan Lehmeier said. “He’s a really twitchy, long and rangy athlete. He has a plethora of tools that make him one of those guys that can present a lot of problems on the edge. … His speed and his first step are tremendous.”

Blatt committed in June to North Carolina and new coach Bill Belichick, who coached some outstanding NFL pass rushers. One of Belichick’s former players, edge rusher Willie McGinest, holds the record for postseason sacks.

Belichick was also on the New York Giants coaching staff when they had future Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor.

“I’m super excited to get to work with him because he knows a lot about my position,” Blatt said of Belichick.

Many of the NFL’s biggest names today play the edge rusher role, as Blatt is well aware. Along with his classwork, he sometimes finds time in the school day to study them, too.

“I like to get my moves from pass-rush highlights,” he said. “When I’m in school, sometimes I’ll watch T.J. Watt videos or the best hits of last season.”

Blatt said he leaned heavily on his athleticism a year ago but believes he is more technically sound as a pass-rusher nowadays. Among his favorite moves is the “long arm,” where he stabs at a would-be blocker to create space.

But he also likes to dip and rip.

“I’ve got a deep bag right now,” Blatt said. “I’m still working on them. … But now that I’ve got a feel for the position, I’m going to go out there head down and do what I can do.”

Ashton Blatt

Central Catholic

Senior

Ht./Wt.: 6-4/230

Position: Edge rusher

Stars: Three by Rivals

Committed to: North Carolina

Division I offers: Boston College, Duke, Eastern Michigan, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Penn State, Pitt, Sacramento State, Syracuse, Toledo, UCLA, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Wisconsin