More than six years have passed since John Petrishen last roamed the halls of Central Catholic.

So what was the deal Thursday with this 25-year-old man apologizing to anyone at the school who might be offended by his appearance?

“I wouldn’t be allowed in there today,” Petrishen said.

Do you know why? Right, he’s growing a beard.

“You had to be freshly shaven, and your hair couldn’t touch the collar of your shirt,” he said, referencing Central’s dress code.

Petrishen’s hair was well within that guideline — perhaps a bit disheveled after he had spent two hours on Pitt’s practice fields — but he nonetheless declared, “I still would like to get a haircut.”

No time, with the Panthers’ football season set to start in 15 days and Petrishen focused on the competition for playing time at star (outside) linebacker and nickel back.

His seventh college football season probably will be his busiest. Yes, that’s right, seven. Thanks to the free covid season granted by the NCAA, Petrishen and Pitt wide receiver Tre Tipton (Apollo-Ridge) are still playing college football six years after their freshman seasons of 2015.

“For me, it doesn’t feel like (seven seasons) at all, split up between Penn State and here,” said Petrishen, a Lower Burrell resident who transferred to Pitt near the close of camp in 2019. “I feel pretty new here.”

Considering the covid disruptions of 2020, Petrishen was correct when he said, “This year is, really, my first fall camp (at Pitt) that’s regular.”

Plus, after three shoulder surgeries, this season marks only the third camp in his career when he is healthy and participating.

“So I love it,” said Petrishen, the oldest player on the team. “Not worn out yet. I could go a couple more years if they wanted me to. I’d love to do that.”

At Central Catholic, Petrishen was one of the most coveted prospects in the state. He had 35 scholarship offers after compiling 120 tackles, eight touchdowns on returns and seven interceptions during the 2013 and ’14 seasons. Over that period, Central was 26-3 and won a WPIAL Class AAAA championship in Petrishen’s junior year.

So, it was no surprise when Rob Harley, recently hired Pitt linebackers coach under new coach Pat Narduzzi, called before signing day in 2015. He had a proposal for Petrishen.

“Coach Harley said, ‘John Petrishen, you’re going to be the next great star linebacker at Pitt.’ ”

You’d think that’s just what a high school senior wants to hear.

Nope.

“I hated to hear that when I was getting recruited,” he said, “because I wanted to play safety at the time.”

He went to Penn State to play safety and transferred to Pitt, still a safety. But as Petrishen grew into his body — he is 6-foot-1, 225 pounds — Narduzzi and Harley (now the defensive coordinator at Arkansas State) decided outside linebacker, after all, was the best spot for him.

“I think it’s a perfect fit for me and my skill set,” said the once-reluctant linebacker. “I put on 25 pounds between camp last year and this year. I feel like it was meant to be. I love this position. I wish I did it earlier because I’m having a lot of fun.”

He is one of many talented players competing for playing time. With Cam Bright, Wendell Davis and Phil Campbell III being pushed by Petrishen, Chase Pine, SirVocea Dennis, Bangally Kamara and Solomon DeShields, linebacker is the deepest position on the team.

“We have young guys pushing the older guys,” said Petrishen, who is, actually, pushing Bright for playing time. “We’re going to have a lot of people in the linebacker room playing a lot of meaningful snaps. We’re embracing that aspect.”

Narduzzi likes having choices. “We’ll be able to rotate a lot of guys in,” he said.

That will be helpful in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sept. 11 when temperatures might be in the 80s for Pitt’s game against the Volunteers.

Despite the wealth of talent, there should be plenty of opportunities for Petrishen, who combines two parts of his athleticism at nickel back.

“I’ve been playing in our nickel package a lot,” he said. “I love that. It’s a hybrid position for me. It’s a little bit what I’m used to at safety and I’m blitzing a lot like I do at linebacker. I getting to cover and blitz, which are really my two favorite things.”

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