The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League, known much better by its shorthand name “the WPIAL”, is one of high school football’s most storied and tradition-rich leagues anywhere in America. Western Pennsylvania football, despite being confined to only one major metropolitan area in the city of Pittsburgh, has produced a staggering amount of talent throughout the years. Whether it’s the area’s six NFL Hall of Fame quarterbacks – Montana, Marino, Namath, Unitas, Blanda, and Kelly – or its countless other football legends – Ditka, Dorsett, Revis, and many more – the Pittsburgh area is a cradle of football.
In large part, the WPIAL has been the incubator of that great talent. While the names and faces of players may change over the years, the great pillars of Pittsburgh football remain the same. Marino’s and Pryor’s and Ditka’s may come and go, but Aliquippa, Central Catholic, Clairton, Jeannette, they remain the same. Western Pennsylvania’s high schools are institutions that see thousands of students pass through their halls every year and many of them go on to great achievements, academically and athletically.
In order to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the first iteration of the WPIAL, I’ll be taking a look back at the highest-ranked and rated players in the league since the inception of the Rivals.com era. While the WPIAL was first founded in 1906, it was not until 2002 that Rivals.com sprung up on the internet to begin scouting and reporting on the recruitments of high school athletes.
48 players from the WPIAL have been ranked within the Rivals250 (which began in 2006) and the Rivals100 (which dates back to the website’s founding in 2002) over the years and many of them have gone on to great NFL and college careers. We’ll be counting down the 40 WPIAL players ranked at the highest echelons, but first we’ll examine the players who just barely missed the cut.
Alex Bookser won the hearts of many local fans in the Pittsburgh area when he decided to stick with Pitt over options like Penn State, Ohio State, Tennessee, and Michigan State. The imposing 6-foot-6, 295-pound offensive tackle from Mt. Lebanon. Bookser got two starts for Pitt in his redshirt freshman year and will enter his third year in the program this fall with sophomore eligibility.
Cam Saddler is one of three Monroeville (Pa.) Gateway prospects who just barely missed the cut for the top 40 list. Saddler was one of the most dangerous prospects in the country with the ball in his hand, albeit a diminutive one at 5-foot-6 and 157 pounds coming out of high school. Saddler picked Pitt over West Virginia and Virginia and finished his Panther career with 2,210 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns.
Aaron Smith was another highly-recruited Gateway prospect at the heyday of the Gators’ WPIAL championship contentions and the 6-foot, 175-pound athlete, who eventually converted to wide receiver, picked Pitt over Maryland, Florida, Penn State, Tennessee, Michigan State, and Virginia. Unfortunately, injuries derailed much of Smith’s career at Pitt, but he was electric as a high school dual-threat quarterback.
Miles Dieffenbach, a 6-foot-5, 277-pound center from Fox Chapel, elected to attend Penn State over Pitt in June of 2009, shocking many who considered him a lock to the Panthers. Dieffenbach had a distinguished career at Penn State, despite playing through the program’s darkest days during the Sandusky scandal. He accumulated 26 starts and briefly hung on as undrafted free agent with the Steelers before moving into the real estate world. He was last seen shedding over 100 pounds from his football weight.
Dondi Kirby, the third and final Honorable Mention among the Gators alumni, was a safety whose physical production never quite matched his high school potential. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound safety committed and signed with Illinois, but his career never got started with the Illini. Kirby had to attend a junior college for academic reasons and eventually transferred to Temple, but is no longer with the Owls either. Unfortunately, off-the-field concerns derailed a standout football player.
Chris Jacobson was a physically imposing offensive guard out of Keystone Oaks who committed to Pitt over West Virginia and Temple nearly a year before his own National Signing Day. Jacobson was often plagued by injuries at Pitt, missing two full seasons due to knee injuries, but he stayed on campus for a full six years, starting 30 games for the Panthers and played in 46 total. Jacobson made the most of his situations when he was healthy.
Altoona athlete A.J. Alexander (say that five times fast) was one of the region’s most highly rated recruits and eventually picked Florida State. The process that took him to that commitment was certainly interesting however. Alexander committed to Florida State nearly 9 months before his National Signing Day, decommitted to flip to Pitt, stayed committed to Pitt for less than a week, and eventually flipped back to Florida State. Alexander spent three years at Florida State, before eventually transferring closer to home to St. Francis University.
Adam Bisnowaty of Fox Chapel picked Pitt over the University of Florida and it has turned out to be a huge win for the Panthers. The 6-foot-6, 275-pound offensive tackle redshirted in his freshman season, but has since started 30 games in three years at Pitt, playing in two more and missing six due to injury. Bisnowaty was a coaches’ first-team All-ACC pick for the 2015 season and has made the ACC All-Academic Football Team for three consecutive years.
Check in tomorrow for the beginning of the countdown and see which WPIAL stars have dotted the college football landscape throughout the years.
