Freshman basketball star Rodney Gallagher gets football offer from Penn State

By: Jonathan Bombulie
Wednesday, April 15, 2020 | 9:54 PM

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It’s not surprising that Rodney Gallagher received a scholarship offer from Penn State on Wednesday.

Colleges from all over the country are sure to be lining up to secure the services of the Laurel Highlands freshman in the coming months.

What might be a little surprising is the Nittany Lions coach doing the offering. It’s not basketball’s Pat Chambers. It’s football’s James Franklin.

Gallagher announced Wednesday night that his second football scholarship offer has come from Penn State. The first came from William & Mary.

A 6-foot, 160-pound wide receiver/ defensive back, Gallagher had a dynamic freshman season on the football field. He caught 25 passes for 491 yards, ran 36 times for 392 yards and scored five touchdowns. On defense, he had 38 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery.

Gallagher’s most high-profile moments have come on the basketball court, of course. He averaged 22.7 points per game and starred in the WPIAL Class 5A finals against Mars, scoring 24 points and making the winning free throws with 4.8 seconds to go.

Gallagher has basketball scholarship offers from Pitt, Illinois and Rhode Island.

Blessed to receive my 2nd offer from Penn State University ????????????????@CoachTerryPSU @coachjfranklin pic.twitter.com/22z25svvnm

— Rodney Gallagher (@RodneyGallaghe6) April 16, 2020

Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.

Tags: Laurel Highlands