TribLive HSSN ranks the top 7 offensive linemen in WPIAL history — No. 1

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 21, 2018 | 6:03 PM

Did you ever wonder how you would rank the top high school football players in WPIAL history?

So did the staff at the TribLive High School Sports Network.

Trib HSSN will rank the top 7 high school football players in WPIAL history by position based on their performance during their scholastic careers.

We will announce the players in reverse order each day, starting Saturday. The top player will be released each Friday morning.

We encourage you to tell us through social media if you agree, or if we have missed the mark with our rankings.

There are no perfect rankings, but it’s something to discuss and debate each week.

Have fun with them and hopefully your — or your father’s — favorite player made the lists.

Here’s a look at the Trib 7 all-time great offensive linemen:

No. 1 — Bill Fralic, Penn Hills

Usually, the top high school recruit in Western Pennsylvania is a speedy running back or strong-armed quarterback.

But in 1980, Fralic was considered the top recruit in the region at 6-foot-5, 280 pounds.

At 6-1, 235 in seventh grade, he was working at a golf course when then-Pitt assistant Jackie Sherrill asked which college he played for. Sherrill was surprised to find out he was only in junior high.

Ninth-graders are rarely invited to try out for the varsity of a defending WPIAL champion, but Fralic started for Penn Hills as a freshman and was part of the 1977 team that shared the WPIAL title with Butler after a 7-7 tie.

Penn Hills won the WPIAL again in ’78 and ’79, but the latter year involved a court case surrounding player ineligibility and the crown was vacated.

The 1980 Indians again had a spectacular season but were eliminated in the semifinals against Mt. Lebanon.

Fralic made the Associated Press all-state team as a junior in 1979. But in 1980, he made both the AP and United Press International all-state first teams on both offense and defense.

He played in the 1981 Big 33 Classic for the West all-stars.

As a wrestler for Penn Hills, Fralic compiled a 98-7 record.

Sherrill recruited Fralic to Pitt, and he again started as a freshman and played four seasons, three as an All-American selection.

Fralic was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1985 NFL draft by the Falcons. He finished his career with the Lions, playing in 132 NFL games.

Fralic was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998 and was a member of the WPIAL’s first hall induction class in 2007.

No. 2 — Jimbo Covert, Freedom

In 1977, Freedom’s Jimbo Covert was the target for numerous big-time colleges.

Covert led the Bulldogs to a 10-0 regular season and a Midwestern Athletic Conference (MAC) title. At the time, only conference winners were admitted to the WPIAL playoffs.

Freedom won the first WPIAL playoff game in school history with a 34-8 victory over Carlynton before a semifinal loss to Laurel concluded the season at 11-1.

After the season, Covert was named to the United Press International all-state first team.

Covert played in the 1978 Big 33 game when the classic had an East Pa. vs. West Pa. format.

Pitt won the recruiting battle for Covert, and he played on the defensive line as a freshman in 1978.

He missed the 1979 season with an ankle injury and started on the offensive line after that.

Covert was part of the 1980 Panthers team that finished second in the country to Georgia and Herschel Walker. He was one of five players from that team to make the College Football Hall of Fame, along with Dan Marino, Hugh Green and fellow linemen Mark May and Bill Fralic.

While the 1983 NFL draft was best known for its quarterbacks, Covert was drafted by the Bears as the sixth pick overall.

A left tackle, he was on the NFL’s all-rookie team and was a key player in Chicago’s Super Bowl XX drive when he was chosen the league’s lineman of the year.

Covert retired in 1992 after 111 NFL games. His No. 75 was retired by Pitt in 2015.

No. 3 — Jim Sweeney, Seton LaSalle

A native of Pittsburgh’s Beechview section, Sweeney was a member of Seton LaSalle’s 1979 WPIAL title team under coach Tom Donohoe, later the Steelers director of football operations.

The ’79 Rebels won the Class AA crown by defeating Carlynton, Burgettstown and then-defending WPIAL champion Knoch, 12-0.

The team earned success soon after the all-boys South Hills Catholic High School merged with the all-girls Elizabeth Seton.

Sweeney played for Pitt from 1980-83, when the Panthers went to major bowl games in all four seasons. The 1980 squad, No. 2 in the country, featured 53 players who were either drafted by the NFL, signed as an undrafted free agent by an NFL team or received an NFL camp tryout.

Sweeney made the most of his opportunity, playing 16 seasons in the NFL. He was picked by the Jets in the second round of the 1984 draft and played 11 seasons with New York.

Sweeney was selected to the NFL all-rookie team that season.

At one point, he started 158 consecutive games with the Jets, one of the most significant streaks among NFL offensive linemen. After 11 seasons with the Jets, Sweeney played one season with the Seahawks before finishing his career with his hometown Steelers for four seasons.

He played in 228 NFL games, third most among players from WPIAL schools, behind George Blanda and Jason Taylor.

No. 4 — Stefan Wisniewski, Central Catholic

After transferring from South Fayette following his freshman season, Wisniewski made a sudden impact at Central Catholic as he helped lead the Vikings to the WPIAL and PIAA titles and a 16-0 record.

Central Catholic made it to the Class 4A semifinals each of the next two seasons, but couldn’t get back to Heinz Field for the finals. Wisniewski was an Associated Press first-team all-state offensive lineman in both 2005 and ’06.

He played in the 2007 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Wisniewski went on to Penn State where he became the first Nittany Lion to be named to ESPN’s All-Academic team three consecutive years (2008-10). As a senior in 2010, he became the 95th Penn State player to be named first-team All-American.

Wisniewski was drafted in the second round by the Raiders in the 2011 NFL draft. He is now with the Eagles and played in his 110th NFL game this past Sunday.

No. 5 — Jeff Craig, Connellsville

At 6-foot-6 and 305 pounds, Craig was a dominant force in Connellsville’s only WPIAL championship team in 1991.

The Falcons defeated Upper St. Clair, 17-6, at Three Rivers Stadium to advance their record to 13-0. Connellsville lost to Erie’s Cathedral Prep in the PIAA semifinals.

After receiving a first-round bye, Connellsville defeated Penn Hills, 27-14, and Mt. Lebanon, 7-0, to set up the trip to the finals.

The seed was actually planted the previous season when the Falcons lost to Butler, 24-14, in the semifinals. Craig was among those who went around the Falcons locker room and told teammates to commit to the following season to erase the losing feeling.

Craig was also a second-team all-state selection by the Associated Press as a junior and received first-team accolades in 1991.

He played in the 1992 Big 33 Classic in Hershey against the Maryland all-stars.

Craig was also an outstanding wrestler, qualifying for the PIAA individual tournaments in 1991 and ’92.

Craig played for Pitt from 1992-96 and is now an accountant in the Atlanta area.

No. 6 — Steve August, Jeannette

It was a career that almost didn’t happen. August never played football until his senior season at Jeannette.

After friends talked him into coming out for the team, August was an integral part of the 1971 WPIAL champion Jayhawks. Jeannette (11-0) defeated Beaver, 14-7, at Pitt Stadium under coach Joe Mucci.

August then went to Tulsa University, where the Golden Hurricanes won or tied for the Missouri Valley Conference title four of the five seasons he was there.

To begin his pro career, August was involved in one of the NFL’s historic trades. Seattle was set to pick second in the NFL draft after finishing ahead of winless Tampa Bay as a 1976 first-year team.

Dallas wanted reigning Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett, the No. 1 back in the Trib 7 rankings, sending a first- and second-round pick to the Seahawks. Seattle took August in the first round and the Jeannette native played 102 games with the Seahawks from 1977-84.

He started 90 games at right tackle, a Seahawks record to this day. With lefthanded quarterback Jim Zorn in Seattle, it was August’s job to protect Zorn’s “blind side.”

No. 7 — AQ Shipley, Moon

Although the 2018 season with the Arizona Cardinals ended before it started with an ACL injury, Allan Quay Shipley is the only player from a WPIAL school to win the Dave Rimington Trophy, symbolic of the top center in college football.

Shipley won it in 2008 while with Penn State, a year before Steelers center Markeis Pouncey won the award.

In his days at Moon, Shipley was named Associated Press Big School all-state, third-team offensive lineman in 2002 and first-team Class 3A defensive lineman in 2003. He was also named to the Tribune-Review Terrific 25.

The 2001 Tigers lost in the WPIAL quarterfinals against Highlands. In 2002, Moon made the semifinals, losing to Pine-Richland in double overtime.

In 2003, Moon also made the semis, losing to Thomas Jefferson.

He played in the 2004 Big 33 game against Ohio.

In basketball, Shipley was part of the Moon team that won the 2004 WPIAL Class 3A title over Knoch and followed that with a state title with a victory over Holy Ghost Prep.

Shipley was moved between the offensive and defensive lines while at Penn State. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL draft by the Steelers.

After stints with the Eagles, Ravens and Colts, Shipley has found a home in Arizona and has already signed an extension for 2019.

George Guido is a freelance writer.