Panther-Lair.com will be counting down the best players in the WPIAL's graduating class of 2018 now that state championships have concluded.
The WPIAL - or Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League for the uninitiated - is the home of decades of football history and top prospect. Six classifications of teams surrounding the Pittsburgh area call Pennsylvania's District 7 home and the district produces dozens of college football prospects annually. Concluding today with the top five, Panther-Lair.com will be counting down the top 20 prospects in the WPIAL for the class of 2018.
SEE ALSO: 2018 WPIAL Rankings: 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6
5. Julian Major - Wide receiver - Penn Hills (Pa.)
Penn Hills' Julian Major should be one of the state's best receivers for the class of 2018 and is expected to compete alongside Harrisburg's Shaquon Anderson-Butts and Philadelphia's Darryle Simmons for that distinction throughout the next year or so. Major is a sure-handed and speedy receiver who's very comfortable creating separation and racking up yards after the catch in the open field. He's still slightly built and will need to add weight and strength to see early playing time in college, but he has the tools to play in the slot or as a flanker. If he can add that muscle over the offseason, Major's abilities to fight-off more physical corners and break tackles in the open field could increase drastically and take him to the next level.
4. Marcus Hooker - Athlete - New Castle (Pa.)
New Castle's Marcus Hooker had significant expectations coming into his junior season and he's exceeded virtually all of them. In the same season that his older brother earned All-American status in his college debut, the younger Hooker starred on both sides of the football for the Canes and helped to lead his team to a berth in the WPIAL Championship. The biggest knock on Hooker throughout his recruitment has been a lack of elite straight-line speed, and that is still somewhat of a concern, but he's been so explosive and quick in short distances that it hasn't mattered all that much. While he isn't a 4.35 40-yard dash type of athlete, Hooker has shown both that quick-twitch ability and an impressive level of physicality and strength, especially given his size. I could see him fitting in at safety, H-back, or cornerback at the college level, depending on what his team needs, and filling those roles comfortably. He seems to be most comfortable flying downhill to the football right now and was a turnover-generating machine for New Castle.
3. Devin Danielson - Defensive tackle - Jefferson Hills (Pa.)
These days, there is one player in western Pennsylvania football lore who is going to be held as the standard for every defensive tackle to come out of the area. Not since Aaron Donald was embarrassing offensive linemen and destroying quarterbacks for Penn Hills have we seen a defensive tackle as productive as Devin Danielson, a three-year starter (four next season) at 4A powerhouse Thomas Jefferson. Danielson is just so tremendously disruptive for the Jaguars that it's inevitable for those comparisons to be made. It's unfair to hold a high school junior to that kind of standard, but it speaks to the blend of speed and power that Danielson has shown that his name is even being mentioned in any capacity near Donald's. Danielson plays both ways for Thomas Jefferson, but will be a defensive tackle at the next level. He has a motor that seemingly never quits and is a disruptive force on every down, firing off of the football and utilizing a bull rush that is a sight to see. There are critiques of his game to be made - Danielson most relies on his physical superiority right now and needs to become more violent with his hands to add more pass-rushing moves - but the positives far outweigh the negatives.
2. Kwantel Raines - Safety - Aliquippa (Pa.)
I was fortunate to see Kwantel Raines play three full games in person this season and the Aliquippa junior impressed me each time. There's still some raw points to his game and Raines is just beginning to fill out his frame physically, but the flashes of what he could become are tantalizing for college coaches. Raines has repped at quarterback, wide receiver, and safety and also spent a little time playing in the box. The consensus has seemed to be that safety should be where he ends up - and for good reason, 6-foot-3 players with his length and athletic profile don't grow on trees - but Raines would make for a really intriguing walk-out linebacker if he adds weight in college the way I expect him to. His skills with the football in his hands are also impressive and he shows speed and suddenness that few players possess at his size. The same speed and explosiveness that make Raines a threat to make a play on any airborne football in his area make him capable of housing the football for a score on any down. I wouldn't be shocked to see him get a look on both sides of the football if he goes to a program that's prone to experimenting in that fashion.
1. Phil Jurkovec - Quarterback - Gibsonia (Pa.)
Unfortunately, football fans were robbed of seeing a full season from electric Gibsonia (Pa.) Pine Richland quarterback Phil Jurkovec as an injury cut his 2016 season short. There hasn't been a player in the WPIAL with Jurkovec's size and ability to make plays with both his legs and arm since former number one overall recruit Terrelle Pryor. The Notre Dame commit shows excellent pocket awareness and when he tucks the football to take off and run, he's a long-strider that pulls away from defenders with ease. Jurkovec has some wiggle as well and is shiftier in the open field than most players of his size are. From a passing standpoint, Jurkovec has a big arm and can really fire the football when he sets his feet. He has the arm talent to make any throw required of him on the football field and his ability to place the football is impressive. There are still some areas where Jurkovec needs to clean things up mechanically - his wind-up can run a little long and he'll need to shorten that up - but every problem he has is fixable and his physical qualities and abilities are rare. Jurkovec is on the shortlist of the country's best dual-threat quarterbacks in the 2018 class alongside players like Emory Jones, Joey Gatewood, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.