With camps, college visits back, TribLive HSSN Preseason All-Stars are busy this summer
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Thursday, July 22, 2021 | 8:54 PM
The top 25 HS football players from the WPIAL and City League pose for a photo during a Trib HSSN event on July 22, 2021, at Kennywood. In the front row, from left, are Belle Vernon’s Devin Whitlock, West Allegheny’s Gavin Miller, Mt. Lebanon’s Joey Daniels and Gateway’s Brad Birch. In the second row are Central Catholic’s Donovan Hinish, Chartiers Valley’s Lamont Payne, Serra Catholic’s Pharoh Fisher, North Hills’ Robert Dickerson, Woodland Hills’ Deontae Williams, Penn-Trafford’s Cade Yacamelli, Sto-Rox’s Josh Jenkins, Central Valley’s Landon Alexander and Armstrong’s Cadin Olsen. In the back row are Kiski Area’s Brandon Lawhorn-Moore, Brashear’s Ta’Mere Robinson, Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin, Pine-Richland’s Jeremiah Hasley, Blackhawk’s Lorenzo Jenkins, Gateway’s Patrick Body, North Allegheny’s Jacob Porter, Thomas Jefferson’s Nick Bryan and Central Valley’s Sean FitzSimmons. Also on the team are Perry’s Tyreese Fearbry, Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher and Central Catholic’s Anthony Speca.
Kiski Area’s Brandon Lawhorn-Moore is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Brashear’s Ta’Mere Robinson is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Sto-Rox’s Josh Jenkins is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Blackhawk’s Lorenzo Jenkins is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Woodland Hills’ Deontae Williams is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Serra Catholic’s Pharoh Fisher is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Perry’s Tyreese Fearbry is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Pine-Richland’s Jeremiah Hasley is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
West Allegheny’s Gavin Miller is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
North Allegheny’s Jacob Porter is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Chartiers Valley’s Lamont Payne is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Central Valley’s Sean Fitzsimmons is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Central Catholic’s Donovan Hinish is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Armstrong’s Cadin Olsen is interviewed during Thursday’s Trib HSSN event at Kennywood Park.
Belle Vernon’s Devin Whitlock is interviewed during an Trib HSSN event Thursday at Kennywood Park.
Thomas Jefferson’s Nick Bryan is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Gateway’s Brad Birch is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
North Hills’ Robert Dickerson is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Central Valley’s Landon Alexander is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Penn-Trafford’s Cade Yacamelli is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Mt. Lebanon’s Joey Daniels is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
Gateway’s Patrick Body is interviewed during an HSSN event at Kennywood on July 22, 2021.
As Josh Jenkins walked into Kennywood Park, passing the merry-go-round and the Sky Rocket, the Sto-Rox quarterback marveled at just how much life has improved in a year.
At this time last summer, Western Pennsylvania’s high school football players were mostly staying close to home and wondering whether there’d be a 2020 season at all. Now, with optimism for a more normal fall, many are making up for lost time with a hectic summer that has kept them on the go.
Their latest stop came Thursday at Kennywood for an event honoring the 25 players on the TribLive HSSN Preseason All-Star Football Team. The live-streamed show recognized the top players in the WPIAL and City League.
The event didn’t take place last summer when gathering sizes were restricted statewide.
“As I was walking into Kennywood today, I was looking at everybody,” said Jenkins, a junior who ranks among the WPIAL’s top passers. “Last year we couldn’t even do this because covid was a big thing and shut down everything. Now, to walk in here and see everybody, it’s crazy.”
Along with Jenkins, the preseason all-star team featured Central Valley’s Landon Alexander and Sean FitzSimmons, Central Catholic’s Donovan Hinish and Anthony Speca, Gateway’s Brad Birch and Patrick Body, Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin and Devin Whitlock, Thomas Jefferson’s Nick Bryan, Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher, Mt. Lebanon’s Joey Daniels, North Hills’ Robert Dickerson, Perry’s Tyreese Fearbry, Serra Catholic’s Pharoh Fisher, Pine-Richland’s Jeremiah Hasley, Blackhawk’s Lorenzo Jenkins, Kiski Area’s Brandon Lawhorn-Moore, West Allegheny’s Gavin Miller, Armstrong’s Cadin Olsen, Chartiers Valley’s Lamont Payne, North Allegheny’s Jacob Porter, Brashear’s Ta’Mere Robinson, Woodland Hills’ Deontae Williams and Penn-Trafford’s Cade Yacamelli.
Twenty-three of the 25 all-stars attended Thursday’s event.
“We’ve wanted to do this since middle school,” said Dickerson, speaking for himself and Blackhawk’s Lorenzo Jenkins, a former youth-league teammate in the North Hills. “It’s nice to have our goals come true.”
Said Lorenzo Jenkins: “It’s honestly been a dream of mine since eighth grade to be a part of this.”
Yet, their trip to West Mifflin wasn’t their longest this summer.
Jenkins visited “dream school” Florida State in June along with camps at Pitt and Youngstown State. Dickerson, a two-sport standout, attended Penn State’s football camp while also playing baseball tournaments on weekends.
Recruits weren’t able to make campus visits with coaches last summer when the NCAA declared those months a dead period on the calendar.
“This summer feels more like my freshman and sophomore year,” Dickerson said. “It’s back to normal.”
High school football teams across the state will start heat acclimatization Aug. 9. The first practices are Aug. 16 with Week Zero season openers Aug. 27.
In recent weeks, Josh Jenkins and his Sto-Rox teammates made visits to Ohio State and Pitt, along with 7-on-7 passing camps at Slippery Rock, Westminster and St. Francis. A year ago, there were no camps.
“I didn’t even know what a camp felt like,” said Jenkins, who hasn’t slowed down much all summer.
He is not alone.
With football season only weeks away, some all-stars were hoping to squeeze in another college trip or two before the summer ends. Whitlock was headed to Harrisonburg, Va., for a camp at James Madison.
“My summer has been all filled up,” said Whitlock, a senior at Belle Vernon. “I’m just making up lost time that I’m trying to get back.”
Watch an archived broadcast of the TribLive HSSN Preseason All-Star Football Team selection show.
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
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