Early National Signing Day sees Philadelphia high school players make commitments official
Early National Signing Day in college football is here, meaning high school recruits can begin making their commitments official.
According to 247Sports' rankings, the Philadelphia region has eight of the top 15 recruits in Pennsylvania. St. Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia had seven players sign with FBS programs, four of which are ranked in the top 15 of 247Sports' state rankings.
Quarterback Matt Zollers of Spring-Ford High School in Royersford, Montgomery County, signed with Missouri. Zollers, a four-star recruit, is ranked second in Pennsylvania and seventh among quarterbacks by 247Sports.
7 St. Joseph's Prep players sign on National Signing Day
Two of the seven St. Joe's Prep players are staying in Pennsylvania. Cameron Smith, a four-star linebacker ranked fifth in Pennsylvania by 247 Sports, signed with Penn State University.
Smith said he chose Penn State largely because of its reputation of churning out NFL linebackers.
"My goal is to go to the NFL, be a legend, cement my legacy," he said. "What better place to do that than the place they call LBU?"
Ramier Hardy, a three-star wide receiver, was one of five players to sign with Temple University one day after the school introduced K.C. Keeler as head coach.
Keeler described himself as a "culture builder" who will build a foundation on North Broad Street with high school players.
"High school recruiting will always be our foundation," Keeler said. "That's a fabric of the team, and I believe that if you're always taking transfers to build every gap and hole, it's tough to really develop a culture."
Hardy is part of Keeler's initial recruiting class at Temple.
"I looked at the school and I looked at the football and I looked at the coach's track record," Hardy said. "He's proven to turn programs around and he's proven to do great things with programs who haven't had a lot of success in the past."
Hardy added partly chose TU for its law and business schools.
Four-star defensive lineman Maxwell Roy and three-star running back Isaiah West are headed to Ohio State University. Roy and West are ranked sixth and 11th in Pennsylvania, respectively.
Linebacker Anthony Sacca, the son of former Penn State quarterback, signed with Notre Dame. Sacca is a three-star recruit and ranked 12th in Pennsylvania.
Offensive lineman Kahlil Stewart signed with Syracuse University. Stewart, a three-star recruit, is ranked 20th in Pennsylvania.
Bleek Turner, another O-lineman, signed with Monmouth University. Turner was not ranked in the top 46 by 247 Sports.
Other Philadelphia-area FBS signings
Bonner-Prendergast wide receiver Jalil Hall, a four-star recruit ranked 10th in the state, signed with West Virginia.
Jabree Wallace-Coleman, a three-star RB at Imhotep Institute Charter High School in Philadelphia, signed with Penn State. Wallace-Coleman is ranked 15th in the state.
Josh Williams, a three-star offensive lineman at The Haverford School in Delaware County, signed with Stanford.
Julian McFadden, a three-star wide receiver at LaSalle College in Philadelphia, signed with Syracuse. McFadden is ranked 21st in the state.
Andrew Pellicciotta, a three-star safety at Malvern Prep, is going to Duke. He's ranked 22nd in the state.
William Felder Jr., a three-star safety at Roman Catholic in Philadelphia, is also headed to Duke. He's ranked 24th in the state.
247 Sports' Pennsylvania rankings can be found online.
