JEANNETTE, Pa. — Pitt 2023 commit Braylan Lovelace is the driving force of Leechburg Blue Devils being a contender for the WPIAL Class-1A title. He is a big, strong, and physical running back who is the focal point of Leechburg’s offense, defense, and special teams with him running the ball, catching the ball out of the backfield, and making plays on defense.
On Friday, Jeanette could not make plays in the middle of the field due to his speed and ability to close out on the ball. He almost singlehandedly took over the game and even ran back a punt return for a touchdown. Picture a 6-foot-3, 200-pound athlete that is projected to play linebacker, running back punts for touchdowns.
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Lovelace is a three-star recruit that committed to Pitt on June 19 over offers from Army, Brown, Bucknell, Columbia, Delaware, Penn, Toledo, and Virginia Tech. He is the No. 20-ranked player in Pennsylvania, and the No. 90-ranked linebacker nationally.
Lovelace is in line to enroll early at Pitt, confirmed by Leechburg head coach Randy Waters, who spoke to Pittsburgh Sports Now about how what he will bring to the Pitt program, what he has done to improve his game, and how he will be at the Pitt early in the program. Lovelace said bigger, faster, and stronger during the offseason, and he gave credit to the Two-Tenths camp and Dwayne Brown and credited him in his development by playing seven-on-seven drills to get him ready for his season at Pitt.
“I’ve been going to two-tenths, Dee Brown,” Lovelace said. “They have helped me a lot, I’ve been playing seven-on-seven, and that’s a lot that’s a big thing. If you are a young player that wants to make it to the division one level and maybe, make it to the league (NFL) that is the place to go. They work on making you a great athlete by making you stronger with a great core, and all the things to make you a big-time player. We were in the weight room consistently all summer long, as a matter of fact, since January. I’ve been working hard, and it shows on the field.”
Lovelace talked about his role with Pitt and how he will be used at Pitt as he projects to be a linebacker, but he would also be used as a safety/linebacker hybrid on Pitt’s defense. and he spoke about what he will bring to the table at Pitt.
“My role will be to play in pass coverage, that guy that can make plays in the open field, make the hit and come off the edge and things like that.”
Lovelace then spoke about what type of player Pitt is getting, and he spoke about them getting a character player and how he will play to the whistle no matter the situation.
“A very explosive player, a player that plays with his heart. The game isn’t over until it’s over. If we’re down a lot or we’re up big, I will bring that same energy. I don’t care who we are playing.”
Lovelace also spoke about how he spoke about the goals Leechburg wants to achieve for the rest of the season, and he wants to be a part of something that the school has never done.
“We got things to do, we want to make the playoffs for the second year in a row something that Leechburg has never done that’s something we have to do, and we will get after it at practice.”
Lovelace was at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday for Pitt’s game against Virginia Tech.
Sounds like a high character, hidden gem. Nice.