West Virginia snares Rodney Gallagher, but where are the other top area players?

With one complete academic year and his senior football season ahead of him, Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher — to his credit — did not squeeze every last bit of drama from his high-profile recruitment.

The No. 1 recruit in Pennsylvania, per Rivals.com, announced Wednesday he will enroll at West Virginia next year and, most likely, play slot receiver for the Mountaineers.

Made my decision for the next 4 years ✍???? pic.twitter.com/p8lGRNGMet

— Rodney Gallagher 3rd (LLC????) (@Rodney_G3) May 25, 2022

He made up his mind in the final days of his junior year, making his decision public during a news conference in the Laurel Highlands gym where he is also a standout basketball player. Football, however, is his future.

Gallagher could have stretched his recruitment into the summer — he originally planned to make an announcement July 4 — but that only would have created more anxious moments for those Pitt, WVU and Penn State fans who obsess over such things.

It’s still about seven months until signing day, but Gallagher’s decision to attend college 38 minutes from his home in Fayette County raised an interesting question:

Where do the top WPIAL and City League players go to college?

The Tribune-Review decided to look back at the top five local players from the nine classes between 2015 — Penn State coach James Franklin’s first full season — and 2023. Next year’s class includes only three locals at the moment: Gallagher, Brashear linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson and Chartiers Valley cornerback Lamont Payne. Robinson is undecided; Payne has given Penn State a verbal commitment.

The list of 43 players was culled from Rivals.com’s rankings of the top players in Pennsylvania in those years.

The findings:

• Pitt is the leader since 2015 in procuring commitments from the region’s best players, getting signatures from 14. Five from that group, including All-ACC safety Paris Ford, either transferred or left the team prior to exhausting their eligibility.

• Central Catholic’s John Petrishen originally signed with Penn State in 2015 to play safety before transferring to Pitt where he became a standout linebacker. Aliquippa’s M.J. Devonshire signed with Kentucky in 2019 but transferred to Pitt.

• Penn State was second with nine, followed by Notre Dame (five), West Virginia (three) and Michigan and Kentucky (two each). LSU, North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Florida, Kansas State and Cincinnati claimed one each. Pitt’s 14 is one-third of the total number of commitments, but there is plenty of competition with 12 other schools having sampled the local wares.

• Pitt was less successful in luring the No. 1 player from the region, getting safety Jordan Whitehead in 2015 and defensive tackle Elliot Donald in 2021 among nine classes. Notre Dame takes that prize, with three consecutive commitments (2018-2020) from Pine-Richland quarterback Phil Jurkovec and offensive linemen Andrew Kristofic of Pine-Richland and Michael Carmody of Mars. Jurkovec, it should be noted, transferred to Boston College.

• Of the nine players ranked No. 1 locally, five did not choose Pitt or Penn State — Notre Dame’s trio, plus Perry defensive end Tyreese Fearbry (Kentucky) and Gallagher.

Welcome @FearbryTyreese to the Kentucky Football family! #BBN #NSD22 #2Legit2Quit pic.twitter.com/T1bElY0EJs

— Mark Stoops (@UKCoachStoops) December 15, 2021

• Penn State landed two No. 1s: Woodland Hills running back Miles Sanders and Clairton safety Lamont Wade in 2016 and 2017.

• Central Catholic was represented by the most players (six), followed by Aliquippa (five) and Pine-Richland (four).

• Looking at the big picture, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was more successful in his attempts to attract local talent in his first four seasons, including the 2015 class that signed six weeks after he was hired. From 2015-18, he signed 22 local players, including four who eventually earned NFL paychecks — Whitehead, Pine-Richland quarterback Ben DiNucci, Quaker Valley cornerback Dane Jackson and Central Catholic safety Damar Hamlin.

• Since then, including the incomplete 2023 class, Pitt has signed only seven with WPIAL and City League ties. Nonetheless, Narduzzi and his staff had enough talent from other areas of the nation (and Italy) to win the 2021 ACC championship. That included Heisman Trophy finalist and Pittsburgh Steelers first-round draft choice Kenny Pickett.

Here is the list of the five top-ranked players from the WPIAL and City League for recruiting classes of 2015-23, according to Rivals.com.

2015

1. Safety Jordan Whitehead, Pitt, Central Valley

2. Offensive tackle Sterling Jenkins, Penn State, Baldwin

3. Guard Alex Paulina, Pitt, Canon-McMillan

4. Tight end Nick Bowers, Penn State, Kittanning

5. Safety John Petrishen, Penn State, Central Catholic

2016

1. Running back Miles Sanders, Penn State, Woodland Hills

2. Safety Damar Hamlin, Pitt, Central Catholic

3. Linebacker Kaezon Pugh, Pitt, Aliquippa

4. Khaleke Hudson, Michigan, McKeesport

5. Cornerback Therran Coleman, Pitt, Brashear

2017

1. Safety Lamont Wade, Penn State, Clairton

2. Safety Paris Ford, Pitt, Steel Valley

3. Guard C.J. Thorpe, Penn State, Central Catholic

4. Offensive tackle Joshua Lugg, Notre Dame, North Allegheny

5. Defensive tackle Donovan Jeter, Michigan, Beaver Falls

2018

1. Quarterback Phil Jurkovec, Notre Dame, Pine-Richland

2. Tight end T.J. Banks, West Virginia, East Allegheny

3. Safety Kwantel Raines, West Virginia, Aliquippa

4. Defensive tackle Devin Danielson, Pitt, Thomas Jefferson

5. Offensive tackle Jake Kradel, Pitt, Butler

2019

1. Offensive tackle Andrew Kristofic, Notre Dame, Pine-Richland

2. Cornerback M.J. Devonshire, Kentucky, Aliquippa

3. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr., Penn State, North Allegheny

4. Wide receiver Will Gipson, Pitt, Aliquippa

5. Guard Michael Katic, Indiana, Pine-Richland

2020

1. Offensive tackle Michael Carmody, Notre Dame, Mars

2. Defensive end Dayon Hayes, Pitt, Westinghouse

3. Linebacker Zuriah Fisher, Penn State, Aliquippa

4. Defensive end Aaron Beatty, North Carolina, Central Catholic

5. Tight end Josh Rawlings, Virginia, Woodland Hills

2021

1. Defensive tackle Elliot Donald, Pitt, Central Catholic

2. Safety Derrick Davis, LSU, Gateway

3. Defensive end Nahki Johnson, Pitt, West Mifflin

4. Safety Donovan McMillon, Florida, Peters Township

5. Defensive tackle Dorien Ford, Pitt, Baldwin

2022

1. Defensive end Tyreese Fearbry, Kentucky, Perry

2. Offensive tackle Jalen Klemm, Kansas State, Pine-Richland

3. Defensive tackle Donovan Hinish, Notre Dame, Central Catholic

4. Defensive end Sean FitzSimmons, Pitt, Central Valley

5. Cornerback Patrick Body, Cincinnati, Gateway

2023

1. Wide receiver Rodney Gallagher, West Virginia, Laurel Highlands

2. Linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson, undecided, Brashear

3. Cornerback Lamont Payne, Penn State, Chartiers Valley