Dec 20, 2017 3 min read

When Belle Vernon offensive tackle Blake Zubovic committed to the University of Pittsburgh in June, it was because of a natural fit and a gut feeling.

That feeling only grew stronger when Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi agreed on a seven-year contract extension to remain at the school less than three weeks ago.

“It was absolutely awesome to see that,” Zubovic said. “I made a promise that as long as he was still there, then I would definitely stay with Pitt. He is such a great leader of men. He is a great players coach. He was the most down to earth coach I’ve ever met.”

The 6-4, 310-pound Zubovic, along with four other local high school football players, made their college choices official Wednesday in the first year of an early signing period instituted by the NCAA.

South Fayette tight end-linebacker Noah Plack-Tallerico and defensive lineman Ray Eldridge, Washington linebacker Isaiah Schoonmaker and Trinity lineman Ben Phillis each signed national letters of intent in the opening 24 hours of the three-day early signing period, weeks before the traditional Feb. 7 signing day.

“It has definitely felt like a long time since committing in June,” Zubovic said. “A lot of schools showed more interest over the past couple of months but weren’t planning on offering me a scholarship until I visited. It was crazy when pen hit paper. Pitt was my first offer and I couldn’t be more excited to be a Panther.”

After receiving several offers during his senior season, Plack-Tallerico honored his oral commitment to play at the University of Delaware.

“It was exciting but being able to sign early took a lot of stress off of me,” Plack-Tallerico said after receiving Division I offers from Temple and Connecticut this fall.

The South Fayette standout, who decided on Delaware after taking an official visit there this summer, was receiving a heightened interest from Temple after finishing with 52 catches for 935 yards and 13 touchdowns this past season. He also had 75 tackles.

“I never really thought about committing early until people continued to talk about it,” he said. “But when I took that official visit to Delaware I knew I didn’t want to be anywhere else.”

Eldridge, another stalwart on the dominating South Fayette defense, officially signed with Richmond. He finished his senior season with 49 tackles and seven sacks.

Schoonmaker signed his national letter of intent to play Miami (Ohio) after his senior season ended with a WPIAL championship and 14 total touchdowns. He also led the Prexies in tackles (60), interceptions (5) and fumbles recovered (3).

“It’s relieving because I don’t have to worry about anything now,” Schoonmaker said. “I’m happy with my decision. It was definitely the place I want to be for the next four years.”

After receiving interest from a handful of programs, including West Virginia and Pitt, the 6-5, 300-pound Phillis signed with Akron.

Phillis, who played a key role in leading the way for the Hillers’ offense that averaged 33.7 points per game, finally settled at the tackle position as a sophomore.

“I felt like I was going there. I knew I was going there,” Phillis said after visiting Akron and receiving a scholarship offer. “It felt good to make it official and know what my future is going to offer me. Whenever I verbally committed, I wanted to sign on Dec. 20 to assure my spot for the upcoming years.”