2025 4-star LB Anthony Sacca announces top five schools

Philadelphia (Penn.) St. Joseph’s Prep School four-star linebacker Anthony Sacca holds offers from more than 20 schools. He is only considering five of them for his college destination. 

Sacca announced Alabama, Duke, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Wisconsin as his finalists on Thursday. The 6-foot-2.5, 225-pound recruit is sure that he will “definitely” be committing to one of these programs. 

“I went into the month of January this year wanting to figure things out,” Sacca told On3. “I didn’t really have a clear picture, but I had some of my favorites, some schools I liked and some schools that were on the cusp. I feel like right now, these schools are the ones going forward that I’m going to be taking into account.” 

Sacca’s recruitment is heating up

Sacca shared that Wisconsin recently visited his high school multiple times and he met with head coach Luke Fickell, as well as outside linebackers coach/special teams coordinator Matt Mitchell. Ohio State defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Jim Knowles also went to see the No. 4 player in Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, Alabama hosted Sacca on the weekend of Feb. 4 and he got to meet with head coach Kalen DeBoer and defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Kane Wommack. He also has a connection with Crimson Tide co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Colin Hitschler, who joined Alabama this offseason from Wisconsin. 

Regarding Notre Dame and Ohio State, Sacca has visited each program twice and is working on scheduling his first trip to see Wisconsin. The four-star – who is not planning to use all of his official visits – will not rush his decision and looks to visit multiple campuses before evaluating his options and announcing his commitment. 

“It’s just something that clicks and you’re like, ‘This is where I want to play college football, this is where I want to take my classes, this is where I want to have my friends and this is where I want my family to come out and visit,’” said Sacca, the No. 196 overall prospect and No. 26 linebacker in the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking. “It’ll all figure itself out. The football part plays into it, but I want it to be a place where I’m going to enjoy my time being there.” 

Sacca breaks down his top five schools

Alabama: “Before sitting down with coach DeBoer, I knew he was a great coach off of how players talk about him. He brings a winning culture to an already great football culture down in Alabama. I’ve had a relationship with Coach Hitschler since my freshman year when he was at Cincinnati with Coach Fickell. He was my primary recruiter at Wisconsin and now, he’s my primary recruiter at Alabama. We’ve had a long-standing relationship.” 

Duke: “Their defensive line coach and special teams coordinator, Gabe Infante, was actually the head coach at my previous high school and he was at Penn State for a while. I’ve had a relationship with him for quite some time. I haven’t been out there yet. They’re kind of a newcomer as well, but I’ve been very familiar with (head) coach (Manny Diaz), as he was my recruiter up at Penn State. We’ve had a great relationship over these last couple of years. With the way they talk to me, I think I’m going to give them a look.” 

Notre Dame: “I have a great relationship with all of the coaches. I think they would utilize me well out there. (Defensive coordinator/linebackers) coach (Al) Golden was one of my dad’s really good friends in college. They played together at Penn State. I’ve known him for quite some time. We’ve built a relationship. He’s come in and seen me in school… We got to sit down, talk X’s and O’s, get on the board and talk about different defensive philosophies.” 

Ohio State: “I like their defensive scheme… Jim Knowles, he is a St. Joseph’s Prep graduate, which is where I went to high school. He has longstanding ties with the city of Philadelphia. He’s been all over the place and had great success. I really like their defensive philosophy. I’ve still thought fondly about what he showed me when I was down there on my visit in July. Also, the game day experience at Ohio State was a really good time.” 

Wisconsin: “They’ve been recruiting me really hard and they’ve laid the picture out for me well… Wisconsin is one of those schools where I feel like I have to get onto campus to really get a true feeling for Wisconsin football. I’ve sat down with coach Fickell and almost their entire defensive staff and have been on the phone with them. We’ve built really good relationships. The way they want to utilize me is they want to open up their defense and I could be a guy out there that could play early… and make impact plays.”