2025 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Pine-Richland’s Jay Timmons

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, July 22, 2025 | 1:19 PM

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Lawrence “Jay” Timmons is rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals and 247 Sports, and Rivals has the Pine-Richland senior wide receiver/defensive back rated the 39th best in the nation and the second best in Pennsylvania.

The son of former Steelers Super Bowl champion linebacker Lawrence Timmons said he is grateful that his talents and hard work have earned the respect of the national rankings services. He also knows that with his recent decision to verbally commit to Florida State — the same football program where his father excelled from 2004-06 — he has even more eyes on him as he prepares for his final high school season.

“To have that decision made, that stress is off me,” said Timmons, who earned All-Northeast Conference first-team honors at defensive back in 2024 after excelling on both sides of the ball in helping Pine-Richland bring home the WPIAL and PIAA Class 5A championships.

“At the same time, I am now representing two schools, one that I love and one that I have been a fan of since I was a kid. Now, Florida State fans will be watching what I do this season. The expectations also are super high for Pine-Richland. I always say that pressure is a privilege, to have people expect something of you to such a high level. I love that. That’s what I play for.”

Timmons, in his first year as a varsity starter, made 42 tackles, broke up 10 passes, collected four interceptions and forced three fumbles. Offensively, he caught 40 passes for 755 yards and eight touchdowns.

“I went from playing JV my sophomore year to being able to show out for my team and my school,” he said. “I was happy with the opportunity to show how much of a jump I could make.”

Timmons received the first of his more than 20 Division I offers — Akron — at the end of his sophomore year when he ran a fast 40-yard dash at a camp at West Virginia. He posted the results from the camp on X.

“Twitter is a big reason for a lot of my offers,” he said. “Everything I did, I posted on Twitter, and schools took notice. It was any little thing, just making sure they saw me. The Akron offer came before I had done anything. I was just a JV player at the time hoping to make a jump.”

His junior season opened more eyes, and he received offers from Power 4 schools such as Pitt, West Virginia, Maryland, Iowa, Iowa State, Syracuse and Wisconsin.

Timmons made an official visit to Indiana in April and gave a verbal commitment to the Hoosiers shortly thereafter.

But he didn’t shut down his recruitment.

Timmons ran a 4.42 laser 40 at the Under Armour Next Prospects Camp in New Jersey in late May.

He then continued to excel at a prospects camp at Florida State on June 1, which triggered an offer from the Seminoles coaches.

“I went there last year, and I wasn’t even close to being as good,” Timmons said. “In some way, I was seen as a legacy person, and I feel like I deserved that because I hadn’t worked hard enough. They all know me and my mom and dad. They are like family.

“They saw how much better I got and how crazy I’ve been moving lately. They might have been surprised at how good I got, and that’s why they pounced on me so hard. I performed with a lot of confidence.”

The next step for Timmons was the decision to take an official visit to Florida State on June 22. He said there was some pressure from people that he hadn’t gone on an official visit other than Indiana.

“I had people telling me that I didn’t know what another school felt like and how I might have been on an (Indiana) OV high,” he said. “That was a good point.”

Timmons said the Florida State official visit solidified all that he already knew about the school and football program.

Only a couple of weeks remain until heat acclimation week and then the start of official preseason practices.

“I am super excited,” Timmons said. “I have expectations for myself. One of those is being (Pennsylvania) Gatorade Player of the Year. I want to dedicate my work every day towards that. I also love the expectations for this team. Last year, we worked hard and showed out in each big situation. That is exactly how it is supposed to be. For this year, we have a clear goal of winning states again.”

Pine-Richland will close out the home portion of its 2025 season with a Week 8 matchup against rival North Allegheny.

“The black and gold team from Wexford. I don’t want to say their name,” Timmons said with a laugh. “It is a Steelers High School Showcase game. There are three Steelers kids playing in it (North Allegheny seniors Lincoln Hoke and James Harrison III). A lot of Steelers players will go to that game. It’s going to be big. That place will be packed. I am excited for that.”

Pine-Richland opens its season Aug. 22 with a Week Zero game at Findlay (Ohio), the alma mater of Ben Roethlisberger.

“We’re defending. We’re the dogs right now,” Timmons said. “You have to take us down to get to where you want to be. We’re not going down without a fight.”

Jay Timmons

Pine-Richland

Senior

5-foot-11, 185 pounds

WR/CB

Stars: 4

Committed to: Florida State

Division I offers: Indiana, Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Pitt, West Virginia, Iowa, Wisconsin, Syracuse, UConn, Virginia, UNLV, Toledo, Temple, South Florida, Sacramento State, Maryland, Iowa State, Eastern Michigan, Delaware.

Stats (2024): 42 tackles, 10 pass breakups, four interceptions, three forced fumbles; 40 catches, 755 yards, eight touchdowns

Highlights: Hudl

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Pine-Richland