When head football coaches from Southern Cal and Stanford are hopping on airplanes and flying all the way to Westmoreland County to recruit a player, you know that player must be a special talent.
Latrobe’s Alex Tatsch definitely fits the bill. But when this heat-seeking missile of a linebacker announced his college decision Sunday, he picked the school whose coach visited him not by plane but by helicopter.
Tatsch, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound junior, became the latest WPIAL star from the 2025 class to pick Penn State when he and his family made a special visit to the school Saturday to personally notify coach James Franklin and his staff of the news. The commitment came two days after Franklin visited Tatsch at Latrobe High School. Franklin, as he has been known to occasionally do when recruiting, traveled to Latrobe via helicopter and landed on the school’s football field.
Some heavy hitters were after Tatsch, ranked by Rivals as the No. 5 player in the state, No. 18 outside linebacker in the country (he figures to play on the inside at Penn State, though) and No. 220 player nationally in the junior class. Franklin, Southern Cal’s Lincoln Riley, West Virginia’s Neal Brown, Stanford’s Troy Taylor, Virginia’s Tony Elliott and Marshall’s Charles Huff all visited Latrobe to see Tatsch in recent months. All of those schools offered Tatsch, along with the likes of Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Michigan State, South Carolina and Pitt.
But Tatsch ultimately decided on Penn State, which offered him while he was there for a gameday visit in October.
“I think it was because of the relationship he forged with [the Penn State coaches] over the last three or four months,” Latrobe coach Ron Prady said. “Football-wise, the way they play defense, it’s a great fit for Alex, and Alex is a great fit for them. It’s one of the best conferences in the country. Plus, the academics are great.”
Tatsch is the fourth WPIAL player in the junior class to make a verbal commitment to Penn State. The others are Aliquippa running back Tikey Hayes, North Catholic tight end Brady O’Hara and Central Catholic defensive back Xxavier Thomas. The Nittany Lions also have an offer out to Imani Christian linebacker Dayshaun Burnett, who lists Penn State among his top schools. Pitt, which has yet to get its first commitment in the class, has also offered Burnett, as has West Virginia, which has gotten pledges from two 2025 players.
Heading into his junior season, Tatsch’s list of offers consisted of Connecticut and Marshall. That list then grew considerably as Tatsch put together a season in which he racked up a team-high 111 tackles, 4 sacks, 4 interceptions, 4 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. And at running back, he ran for 501 yards on 73 carries and scored nine total touchdowns.
“I think they’re getting a great player,” Prady said. “He has the length that all of those schools liked. The big thing was his ability to play in space. He’s twitchy. I think he does all the things they’re looking for.”
A Latrobe kid going on to play at the highest level of college football doesn’t happen every day. The last one to play at a Power Four school was Tyler Altman, a 2003 graduate who was a defensive lineman at Indiana. However, Tatsch might not be the only Latrobe junior who ends up playing major college football. Quarterback-safety John Wetzel has offers from West Virginia, Boston College and Cincinnati.
Latrobe players getting considerable college interest has coincided with Latrobe itself having strong teams the last two seasons. The Wildcats have reached the WPIAL playoffs in back-to-back years after not having qualified since 1968. Last season, Latrobe lost to eventual PIAA champion Aliquippa, 37-29, in the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals. Both teams are slated to play in Class 5A next season.
First offers
Several local football players received their first FBS offers in recent weeks — Central Catholic’s Elijah Faulkner (Eastern Michigan), Imani Christian’s Stephen Vandiver (Bowling Green, Miami of Ohio), Montour’s Daniel Batch (Toledo, Akron), Montour’s Kaleb Platz (Toledo), Woodland Hills’ George Hill (Temple, Akron, Eastern Michigan) and Woodland Hills’ Zykir Moore (Akron). All of those players are juniors except for Moore, who is a sophomore.
Baseball commitment
Mars’ Jackson Fox (Washington & Jefferson).
Basketball commitment
McGuffey’s Libby Mallah (Geneva).
Football commitments
Apollo-Ridge’s Karter Schrock (Washington & Jefferson); Gateway’s Jaquon Reynolds (West Liberty); Latrobe’s Ja’Tawn Williams (Clarion); Mount Pleasant’s Jackson Hutter (Robert Morris); Saint Joseph’s Anna Kreinbrook (Catholic); South Fayette’s Nico Lamonde (Baldwin Wallace).
Softball commitment
Southmoreland’s Amarah McCutcheon (California).
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.