Saturday, February 22, 2025, 4:51PM |  30°
MENU
Advertisement
Lamont Wade announces that he will attend Penn State in 2017. From left to right, he's joined by his father, sister, mother and cousin Wayne Wade, also Clairton's head coach.
2
MORE

Clairton star Lamont Wade picks Penn State

Brian Batko/Post-Gazette

Clairton star Lamont Wade picks Penn State

In a banquet hall next to a church, Lamont Wade had his pick from the trinity of local college football teams: Penn State, Pitt and West Virginia.

There was no divine intervention needed for this decision, though. It was the Nittany Lions who won the recruiting showdown for the WPIAL’s highest-rated prospect in recent memory.

“The thing I was saying in my head was if Penn State could win, then I would love to be in that program,” said Wade, who put on a Nittany Lions hat after lining up caps for all five finalists, which also included Tennessee and UCLA. “They showed me that they can win with the Big Ten championship.”

Advertisement

Wade, who finished his career as the WPIAL’s sixth-leading rusher all time and with the third-most touchdowns in Pennsylvania history, announced his long-awaited decision Saturday night at Ascension of Our Lord Byzantine Catholic Church’s auditorium in Clairton. It was a packed house of family, friends, coaches, former teachers and a few media outlets at a commitment party that also doubled as a graduation party for Wade, who will enroll at Penn State for the spring semester and arrive on campus early next month.

Derry Area football coach Tim Sweeney signals to the crowd after losing to Aliquippa in a Class AAA playoff game, the first time the Trojans had made the WPIAL semifinals since 1995.
Brian Batko
2016 High School Football Coach of the Year: Derry's Tim Sweeney

The final week leading up to the decision was filled with hype, from Wade posting a poll on Twitter that received almost 17,000 votes from fans for their favorite school to national website tracking his moves, but he made up his mind Wednesday.

“The whole experience was great,” Wade said. “I really had fun with it, because you only get to do it one time. Right now, it feels good to be over.”

Enrolling early has long been Wade’s plan, so his decision came down to the wire. He liked a lot about what UCLA had to offer, but the distance was just a bit too much.

Advertisement

Pitt is in need of playmakers in its secondary and had seen plenty of Clairton standouts matriculate to Oakland, while West Virginia also seemed like a destination for immediate playing time. But Penn State’s recruiting efforts, led by assistant Terry Smith who used to coach at Gateway High School, won out in the end for this 5-foot-9, 190-pound ball of football fury who made one of the most anticipated announcements in this area in years.

“It was back and forth so much,” he said. “At first, last year, I wanted to go to West Virginia. Then this year in the spring, I was really feeling Ohio State. At the beginning of this season, it was all Tennessee. But Penn State just had a great season and they stayed consistent with me.”

Wade is ranked the No. 1 cornerback in the country, No. 1 player in Pennsylvania and the No. 9 recruit overall by Rivals.com, earning five-star status. That made Wade the top-ranked WPIAL player since Jeannette’s Terrelle Pryor was No. 1 in the nation in 2008, and the top-ranked player from Pennsylvania since Bishop McDevitt’s Noah Spence in 2012.

Other top WPIAL players who have yet to make a college choice include Steel Valley running back DeWayne Murray and Wade’s Clairton teammate, Noah Hamlin. Wade is the second WPIAL prospect in the 2017 class to choose Penn State, joining Central Catholic lineman C.J. Thorpe.

Clairton's Lamont Wade, center, finished his career right next to Dudek on the WPIAL’s all-time rushing list.
Mike White
2016 High School Football Co-Players of the Year: Clairton's Lamont Wade and Armstrong's Zane Dudek

Before Wade’s announcement, his cousin and Clairton head coach Wayne Wade got emotional speaking about his family member’s journey to this point. His parents thanked everyone for coming Saturday night, and then turned it over to their son as flashbulbs went off and nearly every phone in the room recorded video.

“I love my city like no other,” he said after chants of “We Are” rang out from the crowd when he picked up the hat. “My city really supports me. I’ve been in Clairton my whole life. My address never changed. I have so much Clairton in me.”

Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.

First Published: December 18, 2016, 1:09 a.m.

RELATED
Bishop Guilfoyle's Evan Chadbourn leaps into the end zone for a touchdown against Clairton in the PIAA Class 1A championship Friday at Hersheypark Stadium.
Brian Batko
Bitter end to season for Clairton, but Bears could be back in Hershey
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
The University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning
1
business
Amid funding uncertainty, Pitt pauses doctoral admissions
2
business
How much can retirees safely withdraw from their nest eggs? Financial experts weigh in.
Steelers receiver Calvin Austin III, left, celebrates with teammate George Pickens after scoring a 23-yard touchdown against the Cleveland Browns during the fourth quarter in the game at Huntington Bank Field on November 21, 2024.
3
sports
Steelers position analysis: Is there a path forward at wide receiver with George Pickens?
Preston Coleman, 52, was beaten and strangled inside an Aliquippa VFW on Jan. 5, 2025, in what police described as a vicious, unprovoked attack.
4
news
Bartender working at Aliquippa VFW during beating that left man unconscious facing charges
Vice President JD Vance swears in Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense.
5
opinion
David Mills: Why Christians cheer Donald Trump and his destructive crusade
Lamont Wade announces that he will attend Penn State in 2017. From left to right, he's joined by his father, sister, mother and cousin Wayne Wade, also Clairton's head coach.  (Brian Batko/Post-Gazette)
Clairton's Lamont Wade carries against Bishop Guilfoyle in the PIAA Class A championship earlier this month at Hersheypark Stadium. Wade announced on Saturday he would play college football at Penn State.  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
Brian Batko/Post-Gazette
Advertisement
LATEST sports
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story