Whoosh, the quarterback throws the ball and it lands in the hands of junior linebacker Alex Tatsch, with an interception.
He has made his mark at Greater Latrobe and has become a weapon on the field. From Alex’s sophomore year to his junior year, he grew as a person and a student. “He started to get the athleticism and size of a college player,” said Mr. Prady, Latrobe’s football coach. This made him stand out, and he grabbed the attention of colleges all around the country. In 26, years Greater Latrobe has never seen an athlete as heavily recruited as Alex, who is grateful for what has been given and the opportunities that lie ahead.
The recruitment process that Alex went through was an eye-opening experience. Alex was getting texts and calls from coaches at all hours of the day. Latrobe’s head coach, Mr. Prady helped Alex with this process immensely. Coach Prady said, “My job was just to get his highlight tape and video out in front of as many coaches as possible and after that, they reach out to let me know if they’re interested or not.”
Even though Alex has never been one for attention, he can’t help but garner that same attention he is given. “He is an incredible player, a good student, a good person, and treats people well. Those are all things that make him more appealing to some of these coaches, the humility and his academics and the fact that he is a smart and humble kid,” said Prady.
Teammates and coaches have said if someone does not know Alex and meets him, they would never know the kind of decisions he has had to make. Coach Prady mentioned that “the thing with Alex is–he is very humble about the whole experience.” He added, “There was no animosity among anyone on the team; no jealousy between friends; everyone was happy and proud of Alex, and that is what makes a great team.”
Alex said, “It’s a team sport so everyone has to pitch in, everybody contributes to winning the game, it’s not just me.”
Alex has always been on top of his academics being a student-athlete, as a 17-year-old, getting all this attention has made it difficult for Alex to focus on his academics. Alex was under an enormous amount of pressure. Alex has had his attention pulled in many directions this year. He has gone through the recruitment and commitment process all in the same year, as well as having the pressure of being an injured athlete. He said, “ I had to take it one step at a time, I had to try to keep my priorities straight.” During school, he was always getting pulled from his academic classes to talk to coaches, but he still managed to stay focused on his priorities.
In January coaches are allowed to come to school to meet with him. It has been a very busy few months for Alex. Alex was visited by coaches from Penn State, the University of Southern California, and Notre Dame.
Superintendent and voice for Greater Latrobe football, Mr. Mike Porembka said, “All this attention that Alex is getting benefits our school because I can’t tell you how many coaches have come in here and said I didn’t even know where Latrobe was. We take it for granted that everyone knows where Latrobe is, but they are seeing a commitment not in just football, but in all sports.”
Going into this football season Alex had a hip injury so he had a slow start to the season but that never stopped him. During the season, Alex had another injury. He says, “I tore my labrum halfway through this season and then it just got repaired two months ago. So I should be injury-free going into next season and the plan is to stay injury-free.” Having an injury during the season definitely had an impact on the way Alex performed, he pushed through the pain and achieved exactly what he wanted.
Alex visited six schools over the weekends. One of them was Penn State University, which he felt the most comfortable at. He said, “The relationship I formed with the coaches made me feel extremely comfortable. Sometimes coaches throw an offer at you just for you to visit, but with them, I actually got to know them.” Alex went to Penn State a total of three times, once during his football season and then the last two times during the recruiting season.
Alex especially made a connection to his position coach, Dan Conner, and linebacker coach Tom Allen. He instantly clicked with them, because their personalities are so similar to each other. Having relationships like this with coaches definitely affects the decision that he made.
Porembka said, “When James Franklin visited our school for the first time he had eight schools to visit that day. You would have thought we were his only visit that day because he was not in a hurry he was committed to doing what he had to do.” Many people may think that when meeting James Franklin, he would be arrogant but to Alex, he was everything but that.
On February 4, 2024, Alex committed to Penn State University. The committed process for Alex was less stressful than the recruitment process.
As soon as Alex stepped foot in Beaver Stadium he felt at home. “ As soon as I was at Beaver Stadium my choice was clear,” he said.
During the commitment process, Alex and Coach Prady decided for him to commit on the weekend. Alex did not want to make a fuss about his achievements. This shows a lot about Alex’s character. He did not want to take any achievements away from anyone else, so he decided to keep his commitment behind closed doors.
He is grateful to get this experience but is glad that recruitment and the stress is over. Since Alex committed during the middle of his junior year, he plans to exceed the expectations of being a Penn State football player during his senior season. He says, “ I’ll give it all I got, and live up to the expectations, and get the team as far as we can go.”
The expectations that Alex puts on himself are higher than an ordinary person because he is extraordinary. Next year he will prove why he can go far beyond high school football. He says, “ “Yes, that’s everyone’s ultimate goal when you go and play high-level college football.” The academic and athletic achievements that he has made will be one for the books. He is very excited to continue his athletics and academics and Penn State. Latrobe wishes him luck on his next right step.
