“I’m confident in my ability to rehab it, get it stronger, and prevent anything from happening again,” said Alex.
Division 1 commit, Alex Tatsch has overcome many challenges throughout his football career. The four-star recruit’s high school career has been riddled with injury when a torn labrum sidelined him during his junior season. The linebacker took time during the off-season to rehab his shoulder.
After month’s of work the senior to return to the field. However, luck wasn’t on his side and Alex had to sit out his senior season after reinjuring his labrum toward the end of September.
“It’s just bad luck. It honestly shouldn’t affect my college career at all. It’s common, most kids get their shoulder repaired at some point in their college career,,” Alex said.
Alex is hopeful that injuring his shoulder in high school will avoid future injuries during college. The senior is sure that he’ll come back stronger from his injury and refuses to let it affect him as a player.
Before his injury, the football star found success early on. As a sophomore, Alex was named First-Team All Conference for his defensive capabilities. In his junior season, the football player repeated this accolade, but this time on both sides of the ball, as a running back and a linebacker. The junior was also named First-Team All State for his efforts as an outside linebacker.
The senior believes that he, along with his graduating class, have left their mark on the program. Alex’s freshman year marked the program’s first playoff win in 54 years.
“I think we left a good legacy for Latrobe. We turned the program around and I think it’s going to stay like that,” said Alex.
The linebacker doesn’t believe he can take all the credit for his achievements. While hard work and dedication played a huge role in his success, Alex accredits his accomplishment in part to the great support system that he has backing him.
The football star’s family played a huge role in his decision to play in college and helped him every step of the way. Alex’s parents were both college athletes; his mom played basketball at Penn State Behrend and his dad played football at Allegheny College. Collectively, they told their son that playing a sport in college was “the best decision they ever made”. His parents’ advice wasn’t the only thing that aided Alex as an athlete, their endless support was also crucial to his collegiate career.
“I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do it without them. Hard work and a good family behind me made my success possible,” Alex said.
The senior’s parents aren’t the only family members who left a mark on his football career. Alex’s family is also comprised of two younger brothers, Andy and Anthony. Andy is only a year behind Alex in school, which has allowed the brothers to share the field for three seasons. The linebacker is glad that he got to share the field with his brother every Friday under the lights. He’s also grateful for the support Andy has provided him, even if it isn’t always visible.
“I’m always proud of him and he’s always proud of me. It’s just awesome playing together and being each other’s role models,” said Alex.
The support that Alex has received extends past his immediate family. The football player has also felt encouragement from his teammates and coaches, specifically Coach Prady. His head coach has always advocated for this star player and assisted Alex in advancing his career however he could.
“Coach Prady’s helped me, given me all the opportunities that I’m getting and helped guide me as well,” Alex said.
Alex has worked for the opportunity to play football in college since he discovered this goal. The player believes his ability to motivate himself has allowed him the chance to expand his athletic career. The senior hates lying around and feels like this wastes precious time that could be spent improving upon his skill set. Alex is driven to work everyday, in order to better himself as an athlete.
“I feel like I have to work to give myself an advantage and to improve myself,” said Alex.
The four-star recruit had his pick of colleges to attend and programs to play for. Some of his top three options were USC, West Virginia, and Notre Dame, but the football player ultimately chose Penn State. On February 4, 2024, Alex announced his commitment to Penn State as a linebacker. Alex knew that Penn State was meant for him because he immediately felt like State College was the place for him. This feeling was amplified by the school’s great program and players.
“I felt like it was a group of guys that I shared a lot of common interests with culturally and with what we want to do in college,” Alex said.
The student athlete has no nerves about his transition into the college atmosphere during the spring semester. He believes that he has a solid idea of what this experience will entail, so he feels prepared for any new challenges that college will bring.
Alex is so ready to start his college football career, that he has opted to graduate early and head to State College in the spring. Many factors went into the senior’s decision to cut his graduating year short, but the main benefit that the recruit couldn’t pass up was the chance to give himself an edge over his fellow freshmen class.
“It gives me a great advantage going early and learning stuff before the other freshman do,” said Alex.
The football star has set high expectations for himself, that formed from his exemplary performance on the field. As a freshman, Alex plans to strive for nothing less than this standard. During his time at Penn State this spring, the athlete’s main goal is to “get bigger and stronger”, which will help him to stay injury-free. The freshman also plans to use his extra time to leave a lasting impression on the coaching staff.
“My goal is to stand out and to do all the extra things to stand out, so I can give myself the best shot during my freshman year,” Alex said.
The collegiate-bound athlete is already looking ahead to his first season as a Nittany Lion, while the incoming freshman continues to set his sights on vast targets. The linebacker aims to earn playing time in his first season, and believes his time in the spring will help to achieve that goal.
“I definitely want to find the field at some point, whether it’s special teams or when somebody needs a break.,” said Alex.
Looking even further into the future, the linebacker works everyday to reach his full potential. Alex has trained all his life to be able to play at such a high caliber, but he’s not finished. College football is merely the beginning of a whole new journey, one of which Alex hopes will end in the NFL. The football star is willing to work harder then ever before, in order to accomplish this goal.
“I’m willing to do whatever I can to give me the best opportunity to put myself ahead and to one day play professional football,” Alex said.
