When high school football season kicks off Sept. 4, it will be a very, very big Friday night for many schools.
When it comes to the size of linemen, that statement can be taken literally.
When you look at the average of the front lines at Ringgold, Belle Vernon Area, Charleroi Area and Monessen, the numbers are impressive.
Ringgold's front wall will average 270 pounds, as will Monessen's. Charleroi will average 260 up front and while BVA will be the smallest across the board, the Leopards' line will still average over 230 pounds from tackle to tackle.
The 1980s Wendy's commercial used to ask, “Where's the beef?” In high school football, it is definitely found along the line of scrimmage.
And colleges are noticing.
BVA senior tackle Nick Sweitzer (6-5, 290) has already received 10 college offers, including ones from Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Robert Morris and Duquesne.
Charleroi's John Arnold (6-9, 270), who is making the transition from tight end to tackle this season, has been drawing interest from numerous MAC schools and other Division I-AA colleges.
A name popping up on the radar at Monessen is massive junior Marc Gibson (6-5, 295). Greyhound coach Joe Salvino said Pitt and Penn State have been showing interest, and he expects numerous D-I colleges to be courting Gibson long before he graduates.
While Monessen's numbers on the roster as small — fewer than 30 players — Salvino says he and his staff have been impressed by the quality of the big linemen the Greyhounds will have.
Joining Gibson up front will be senior Zach Baker (5-11, 260) and juniors Hunter Telegraphis (5-11, 280) and Damian Tineri (6-1, 275).
“The coaches have been impressed with the work ethic of this group,” Salvino said. “They are young mostly, but like (offensive coordinator) Gary Dongilli likes to say, ‘It all starts up front.' And we like what we have in this group. We think they will do well.”
Ringgold coach Nick Milchovich said he is not sure how many D-I kids he has along his line, but the Rams have a toughness to go with the size.
He mentioned three players — seniors Daylen Penn (6-2, 290) and Dante Todaro (5-11, 215) and junior Gage Ivory (6-3, 300) — as key members of the Ringgold wall.
“Last year, we may have been a little taller, but overall we are bigger this year,” Milchovich said. “It's by design and we like the toughness of this group of kids.”
While Arnold is the most publicized of Charleroi's linemen going into the season, head coach Don Militzer said he isn't the only talent there.
“Brian Eckels, a junior, is 6-2, 290, and he is getting some D-I and MAC interest, too,” Militzer said. “Last year, we averaged about 230 along the line, but we are a lot bigger this year.
“I think this is the most size I have ever had during my high school coaching experience.”
Where is all this size coming from?
Coaches have varied opinions.
Militzer said he thinks it is from more dedication to weightlifting.
“Kids are putting more time in the weight room than they used to and muscle is heaver than fat,” he said. “Our kids have been going at it for a long time and it shows.”
Milchovich tended to agree, adding that a lot of kids — particularly linemen — concentrate on one sport in high school and that leads to more weightlifting.
“These kids have an extra 15 pounds of muscle that a lot of kids didn't have before,” he said. “A lot of these kids have been in the weight room since January, and years ago you didn't really have that.”
Salvino said it also comes from what they eat.
“A lot of it is fast food,” he said with a laugh. “A lot of kids today would rather eat fast food than eat a good meal. But seriously, kids do a lot more lifting than they used to. There is more emphasis on it than ever before.
“Heck, I remember years ago at Monessen we would be excited if our line averaged 200 pounds. Now look at how things are.”
BVA coach Matt Humbert said weightlifting is one reason for the change.
“I think it's just part of the trend now,” he said. “We were a lot thinner last year, but we are thicker now. We've beefed up.
“Not only are kids lifting weights, but they are more into nutrition and some have even outsourced and have trainers working with them. It's a big emphasis.”
The emphasis is definitely on “big.”
Jeff Oliver is a sports editor for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-684-2666 or joliver@tribweb.com.
