It’s star season in high school football as recruits are receiving star status and that includes three players out of the WPIAL in the 2026 class.
Central Catholic edge rusher Ashton Blatt, Pine-Richland defensive back Lawrence “Jay” Timmons and Peters Township outside linebacker Reston Lehman all earned three-star ratings in the most recent update on 247Sports.
Blatt — a 6-foot-4, 230-pound prospect — holds and 89 overall rating, while checking in as the No. 14 player in the state of Pennsylvania. He also ranks as the 29th-best edge rusher in the cycle.
His recruitment has picked up recently, earning offers from Michigan State, Duke and Eastern Michigan.
Blatt is a key part of a Central Catholic defense that just won the Class 6A WPIAL Championship against North Allegheny.
Timmons — a 5-foot-11, 175-pound prospect — also received an 89 overall rating and is the 15th-ranked player in the state. He is the 22nd-ranked cornerback in the cycle.
The Pine-Richland product is another player that has picked up a handful of Division I offers lately coming from West Virginia, Temple, Akron, Toledo and Eastern Michigan.
Timmons and his Pine-Richland teammates are preparing for a Class 5A WPIAL Championship rematch against Peters Township on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
Lehman — a 6-foot-4, 230-pound recruit — earned an 88 rating from 247, along with ranking No. 18 in the state. He is the 31st-best linebacker in the class, according to the recruiting platform.
One of the fastest-rising recruits, Lehman recently received a four-star rating from ESPN. He holds a fast-growing offer sheet of Penn State, Pitt, West Virginia, Maryland, Minnesota, Boston College, Akron, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo, Miami (OH) and Central Michigan.
He’s instrumental to Peters Township’s defensive success over the past two seasons, earning the school’s first WPIAL title last year. This weekend, he will look to help the Indians go back-to-back over Pine-Richland.
Here’s how the WPIAL stacks up in Pennsylvania in the most recent 2026 247Sports update:
No. 2 Matt Sieg — 4⭐️ Safety from Fort Cherry High School — Penn State Commit
No. 8 Kyshawn Robinson — 4⭐️ Safety from Westinghouse High School
No. 9 David Davis — 3⭐️ Athlete from Imani Christian Academy
No. 14 Ashton Blatt — 3⭐️ Edge from Central Catholic High School
No. 15 Lawrence Timmons — 3⭐️ Cornerback from Pine-Richland High School
No. 18 Reston Lehman — 3⭐️ Linebacker from Peters Township High School
No. 23 Colsen Gatten — 3⭐️ Linebacker from Central Catholic High School
No. 27 Da’Ron Barksdale — 3⭐️ Cornerback from Steel Valley High School
No. 30 Brendan Alexander — 3⭐️ Offensive lineman from Central Valley High School
No. 32 Daiveon Taylor — 3⭐️ Linebacker from Aliquippa High School — West Virginia Commit
