After missing nearly his entire junior season with a broken collarbone, Central Catholic’s Bradley Gompers has had a bone to pick with opponents this fall as he tries to make up for lost time.
Gompers was already regarded as one of the top seniors in the WPIAL and the state, but his stock has skyrocketed over the past two months due to his outstanding play. On Wednesday, 247 Sports bumped Gompers to four-star status. The recruiting site ranks Gompers as the No. 1 player in the WPIAL, No. 3 in the state and No. 104 nationally.
“He’s been tremendous,” Central Catholic coach Ryan Lehmeier said. “He’s a big-time player. Some of the stuff that he does, it just makes you say, ‘There’s a reason why he’s so sought after.’”
Among the “stuff” the 6-foot-5, 215-pound linebacker-receiver has done is return an interception 64 yards for a touchdown in last week’s 59-13 win at Norwin. The win was the sixth in a row for Central Catholic (6-2), the PUP’s No. 1-ranked team in WPIAL Class 6A. And it came with Gompers’ future college head coach, Duke’s Manny Diaz, watching from the sidelines.
“He texted me earlier in the week that he was going to come down,” said Gompers, who has a 4.0 GPA and hopes to major in either business or economics. “I was really thankful that he was there. It’s always great when your head coach comes to see you when he could be anywhere else.”
Duke was idle last week, and Diaz flew into town to watch one of his most prized recruits play a game in person for the first time. Diaz showed up to Central Catholic’s campus that afternoon and even attended Mass with the team. Gompers, who will likely play linebacker in college, verbally committed to Duke in June and said he is still firmly committed to the school, but just as is the case in any recruitment, nothing is official until a player actually signs. So, for Diaz and Duke, these are likely stressful times as Gompers’ recruitment has really picked up, with some heavy hitters joining the chase.
“Everyone from Florida to California is calling about that dude,” Lehmeier said. “I get five to 12 phone calls a day inquiring about him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like that for a committed kid.”
Ole Miss offered Gompers in the middle of September, and Penn State did the same a week later. And then on Monday, Gompers received an offer from defending national champion Michigan. Gompers said that Penn State and Michigan have been recruiting him heavily. Penn State head coach James Franklin and assistant Terry Smith took in one of his games last month, and Franklin had this to say in an interview a few days later — “We can’t get enough Pittsburgh Central Catholic guys.” Former Central Catholic standouts Anthony Speca and Peter Gonzalez are freshmen at Penn State, while Gompers’ classmate, cornerback Xxavier Thomas, is a Penn State commit.
Gompers, who lives in Upper St. Clair, called his recruitment “really stressful.” As to where he stands right now, Gompers said, “I’m committed to Duke, but other schools are recruiting me.”
And from his vantage point, Lehmeier said that Gompers is handling things well.
“Bradley is a kid who is mature beyond his years,” Lehmeier said of Gompers, whose father, Eric, played baseball at Wake Forest. “He has a wonderful support system at home with his parents. It’s a close-knit family. And he has another good support system at Central Catholic.”
Gompers has been a terror on the defensive side of the ball for a Central Catholic team that has surrendered only 9.1 points per game during its win streak. Gompers, who plays alongside junior Colsen Gatten and sophomore Roman Thompson, is second on the team in tackles with 45, which includes six for loss. He also has two sacks to go along with the pick-6. Gompers missed the team’s game against Mt. Lebanon on Sept. 13 due to a hamstring injury and was limited the following week against Hempfield, but he has been full go ever since.
He has made his presence felt offensively, as well, as he’s pulled in 14 catches for a team-best 412 yards and five touchdowns. He’s averaging 29.4 yards per catch.
“He’s intelligent and he’s uber smart,” Lehmeier said. “He can carry on football schematic conversations with coaches and understands coverage adjustments. He’s a really high level thinker and exceptionally talented. He’s very long, and can bend at the knees, hips and ankles really well.”
Last season didn’t go as well for Gompers, who suffered the collarbone injury in a scrimmage against McKeesport and didn’t play again until the final game of the regular season. He then played in both of Central Catholic’s postseason games and even registered a game-high 17 tackles in a 44-41 loss to North Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 6A championship.
Whether Gompers ends up at Duke or somewhere else is still left to be seen. Regardless, Gompers said he will likely not enroll early, meaning he will play one final season with his buddies on the Central Catholic basketball team.
First thing’s first, though, and for Gompers that’s helping lead his senior class to its first WPIAL championship. Central Catholic has lost in the final each of the past three seasons.
“We’re not hungry, we’re starving,” Gompers said. “The last couple of years have not gone our way. Three losses in a row is never ideal for a program like ours. Being seniors, we’re going to do everything we can to put rings on our fingers. It would mean the world to win a WPIAL championship.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.