Dissecting The Most-Talented LB Class in Recent PA Memory. #15-19
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Michael Albert PA #95 LB #15 HEIGHT 6'3" WEIGHT 240 POS LB CLASS 2025 View Profile Michael Albert State: Pennsylvania School: Upper St. Clair t 4.1 GPA 6’3, 245 B360/S530/D600 is a Wrestler and Baseball player There are some stud…
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Continue Reading- t
- 4.1 GPA
- 6’3, 245
- B360/S530/D600
- is a Wrestler and Baseball player
There are some stud athletes littered across the 2025Top100. I’m serious when I say you might not find a more well-rounded, more physically gifted young man than Upper St. Clair’s Michael Albert Michael Albert 6’3″ | 240 lbs | LB Upper St. Clair | 2025 State PA . Let’s put football aside for a minute. Elite skills in the classroom, posts a 4.1 GPA. Elite skills in the weight room, racking up insane numbers on the B/S/D, totals over 1,500 pounds. Weighs in at a cut and chiseled 245 pounds, all the while he can jump a 32 inch vert and a post a 9’3 broad. A specimen who picked up his first of four Ivy League opportunities shortly after being ranked inside our Top100. Albert posts a 5-minute junior tape that fully encompasses the all around ATH he is. First rep has Albert aligned at your traditional EDGE position, in a three-point stance. Next rep, you’ve got Albert working head-up on the center at a traditional partial-shading NG. One of the tougher defenders to lock arms on, Albert blends the athleticism of a TE/LB with unreal trench-prospect power. Yes, Albert is clearly dominating as a front-four man in this tape, yet I’m still enamored with his projection to the LB position at the next level. Albert is continuing to pile on good muscle/beef, if his weight continues to rise, I’d be forced to re-evaluate him as a real EDGE/DE prospect. For now, I still think the kid projects to LB. Stud ATH.
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- basketball player
- 3.8 GPA
- Long-snapping capabilities
I want to call this one a hit on my part. Ranked inside the Top 100, was given a D1 grade for two consecutive updates, all good right? This might actually be a miss on my part, as crazy as that might sound. Why? Montour’s Kaleb Platz Kaleb Platz 6’2″ | 225 lbs | LB Montour | 2025 State PA is actually outpacing his early 2024 projection. Toledo pulled the trigger in the form of a scholarship offer shortly after our rankings released, with Akron following suit a month later. Don’t get it twisted, I believed Platz had a G5 ceiling based on tape alone, I am willing to admit that I wasn’t fully set on the young man seeing O’s before the 2024 Spring/Summer camp had commenced. Platz has outpaced many LBers ahead of him, he’d likely receive a ranking buff based on his off-season stock rising as far as it has. An octopus that has his hands in everything, 130+ total tackles, 5 TDs scored, interceptons and sacks registered. Tack on the multi-sport angle and the good grades, he’s a lock for future Top100 placements at this point. Looks like a college-ready backer on tape, energy, aware of his surroundings yet a calm/poise feel for the position. Taught the position, it’s evident based on pass coverage reps. You can witness for yourself Platz playing the run first, hardly any false steps off the snap, reading the traffic in front of him, dropping/sifting between zones, it’s a good watch. The reps at TE and LS are just icing on the cake, the more Platz can show off early in training camps once he gets in front of his future collegiate coaches. A blend of LOS and deep-middle skills, kid can do it all. One of my favorite tapes to look at each offseason.
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- the second 1,500 Club
- wrestler
Dylan Clair, the second Explorer inside the LB Top 20, actually led the 2023 team in total tackles (74). One of Pennsylvania’s best available and unoffered LBers. New Hampshire, UPenn, and Princeton have extended JDI’s to Clair, they have Clair on the recruiting board, hopefully (likely) Clair’s grades are in order. Awesome weight room work, his lifting clips are almost always an instant share on my part, elite here, it shows on the field. An unreal pair stationed next to Jack Leuthe Jack Leuthe 6’0″ | 205 lbs | LB La Salle College | 2025 State PA , the energy and speed at which both play the position, it’s almost tough to tell them apart on the field and in tape. Clair is more of the first wave middle backer to Leuthe’s scrape. Clair’s going to charge in from his MLB spot to plug gaps, he’s also going to be called to blitz the A/B gaps when necessary, he’s got a great feel for the Explorer blitz package. Clair understands when to hit a hole with speed and finesse to throw OL off balance, or to change tempo and bully his way through smaller fullbacks utilizing strength and momentum. Showed reps where he’s unafraid to take on SJP ball carrier and blockers, if the kid isn’t hesitant against the likes of St. Joe’s Prep, he’s unlikely to be detered by much at the next level. Great player to watch live.
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- 3x 2A State Champion
- 6’1, 220
- basketball player
I might be repeating myself here, but I stand on Southern Columbia’s Dominic Fetterolf Dominic Fetterolf 6’1″ | 215 lbs | LB Southern Columbia | 2025 State PA having one of the highest floors of any LB ranked outside of the Top Ten. What you see is what you get, it’s likely what transfers over when projecting him to the next level. Speaking to coaches in the know, the threshold/window for athletic growth might be passed the young man. Even if that’s the case, you’re still getting a dominant A/B gap plugger, one who registered over 130 tackles through 16 total games. Fetterolf will likely float around the Top100 for the remainder of his career at SC, he’s been a perennial name on these lists since he debuted as a freshman. Pursuit of the ball carrier is up there with the State’s best, you can see the moment he keys and diagnoses, a switch is hit and Fetterolf turns into a hunter, a better runner to the football than his build might suggest. Coaches will likely question if he can work pass coverage sets on defense, it’s a warranted question, not much is seen on tape outside of screen diagnosis. I’v heard phenomenal things about the young man’s intangibles on and off the field, heard of positive leadership qualities. We’ll see where Fetterolf ends up on our ranks after his senior tape.
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- 6’1.5, 220
- wrestler
- 3.5 GPA
A backer who is trending in the right direction in my eyes. 18 TFLs, 100+ total tackles registered by Walker Murray Walker Murray 6’2″ | 220 lbs | LB Pennsbury | 2025 State PA . Murray, who debuted on our ranks inside the Top150, a high D1 grade, back in early January, boasts a seven-minute junior tape on Hudl. Proves he can win in a tunnel, has a one-on-one opportunity to stick a ball carrier at the second level and Murray does just that, one hell of a violent tackler. Stations as a prototypical scraping MLB who is tasked with managing multiple responsibilities. Brings his feet and pads, several TFLs are TFLs because of his forward momentum, everything about the kid is forward and downhill in a flash. Good screen diagnosing, has pass-cathcing reps on offense, he can show off some of his athleticism to coaches in these reps. Can block as a strong-side TE too. Gets out in front of his would-be blocker when crossing the football, often leads to OL whiffing at the next level and more TFLs in the backfield. A thumper who might not have a ton of pass-coverage reps on tape, yet he has no problem showing off his athletic skill set, would love to see him at a camp if possible.