St. Joseph's Prep LB Anthony Sacca drops Penn State from list of contenders

Penn State head coach James Franklin and his staff are off to an excellent start on the recruiting trail, and that’s especially true in their home state. Earlier this week, the Nittany Lions added one of Pennsylvania’s fasting rising prospects, as linebacker Alex Tatsch from Latrobe officially ended his recruitment after flirting with a commitment for a few months.

The staff followed that up on Wednesday with another prospect from Pittsburgh, picking up a commitment from Imani Christian prospect Dayshaun Burnett. At 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, Burnett is expected to play either linebacker or defensive end at the college level.

When you add in tight end/offensive tackle Brady O’Hara, cornerback Xxavier Thomas and running back Tiqwai Hayes, half of Penn State’s 2025 class so far resides in or around Pittsburgh. But while recruiting in the western half of the state couldn’t be going any better, there’s work to do on the other side of the state.

After missing out on Imhotep edge rusher Zahir Mathis in January, Penn State won’t be among the contenders for St. Joseph’s Prep linebacker Anthony Sacca, as he left the Nittany Lions off his list of top schools Thursday. Instead, he’s focused on Alabama, Duke, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Wisconsin.

Missing out on Sacca will grab the attention of fans considering he’s the son of former Nittany Lion quarterback Tony Sacca. However, there have been signs for a few months now that the Lions weren’t trending the way many expected they might.

Link: Imani Christian head coach breaks down Penn State commit Dayshaun Burnett

In an interview with Blue White Illustrated in December, Sacca admitted that while he was in communication with Manny Diaz and others throughout the fall, it wasn’t as much as some other schools.

“I’ve been talking to them periodically, but I wouldn’t say they were the school I was talking with the most [this season]. The schools that I talk to the most I would say are probably Notre Dame and Wisconsin. They’ve been the most consistent schools I’m talking with.”

He also went over a year without visiting Penn State. That changed in January, but it wasn’t enough to push the Lions into a serious contender.

The good thing for Penn State is that linebacker recruiting hasn’t been an issue. In addition to Tatsch and Burnett, the Nittany Lions also added New Jersey native and Top 100 prospect DJ McClary to their class in September.

There are also plenty of remaining targets in eastern Pennsylvania that Penn State remains a serious contender with. Among the notable names are three four-star prospects – quarterback Matt Zollers, offensive lineman Michael Carroll and wide receiver Lex Cyrus.

Penn State also offered tight end Andrew Olesh last month from Southern Lehigh. Olesh is currently unranked by On3, but since picking up Penn State on Jan. 20, his offer list has doubled to 20 schools. Both Florida and Indiana offered on Wednesday. Miami, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech and West Virginia have also offered in the past two weeks.

It’s unclear how Sacca’s decision may impact his St. Joseph’s Prep teammates, but both defensive lineman Maxwell Roy and linebacker Cam Smith are also in the mix. Both technically live in New Jersey but are listed under Pennsylvania because of their school’s location.

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.”