2024 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Latrobe’s Alex Tatsch

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, July 19, 2024 | 12:01 AM

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Alex Tatsch essentially has more stars in his recruiting rating (four) than he does years of high school football.

The Latrobe stud linebacker didn’t play much as a freshman and didn’t catch the eye of major college coaches until he was a junior.

“He was 5-10 when he was in ninth grade,” Wildcats coach Ron Prady said. “Nobody knew anything about him. He really grew and worked on his game. Now he’s 6-3 and a lot of people know who he is.”

Tatsch is a vicious linebacker and the first Power Five recruit to sign out of Latrobe in two decades.

The Penn State commit will look to lead a Wildcats team that has regained its balance and is primed to contend for more than its third straight WPIAL playoff spot.

“More people came to our games last year,” Tatsch said. “It seems like there were a lot less people when I was a freshman until now.”

After a playoff win in each of the last two seasons, Latrobe now wants that many or more in one season.

The Wildcats finished 8-4 and gave eventual champion Aliquippa a close game in the quarterfinals, 37-29, rallying from 25-7 down at the half.

“Aliquippa couldn’t stop him,” Prady said of Tatsch.

Tatsch had some big-name coaches fly to Latrobe to meet with him, including Penn State’s James Franklin and Lincoln Riley of USC. He drew 21 Division I offers overall and in February chose the Nittany Lions.

“He has that switch,” Prady said. “When he turns it on, it’s time to get after it.”

A switch … and a twitch?

“There aren’t a lot of 6-3, 220 guys with that twitchiness to them. He has that,” Prady said. “Rodney Gallagher and Devin Whitlock were guys who had that. It’s rare.”

Being “twitchy,” or shifty, comes from accelerated lower-body movement, which allows Tatsch to drive with full-body force at ball carriers.

“He is so explosive,” Prady said. “It’s his hips and how he can move his lower half. That’s God-given.”

His east-to-west ability to cover ground allows him to close in on rushers and close out on receivers. Watch film of Tatsch and his quickness and thunderous hits stand out.

“He can play in the box or in space,” Prady said. “He can play the pass, too.”

Tatsch could see more carries as a running back this fall, although the Wildcats have several options, including senior quarterback John Wetzel, a D-I guy himself since he committed to Marshall.

“I want to have a big year offensively,” Tatsch said. “I didn’t get to run the ball as much as I wanted to last year.”

Tatsch ran for 400 yards and six touchdowns in about 60 carries last season. He had surgery in December to repair a torn labrum and missed basketball season, but he is primed for a comeback.

“This is the best I’ve felt,” he said.

Tatsch, who works out frequently with FSQ Sports Training in Trafford, follows a strict regimen.

“He trains right and eats right,” Prady said. “When some kids are home playing video games, he is working out. He puts in the effort. He told me he wanted to lower his body fat so he could be in top shape.”

That could mean raising his tackle totals. He had 111 last season to go with four sacks and four interceptions.

Prady said there is a gentle side to his violent pass rusher.

“It’s a combination of things,” the coach said. “Not everybody is 6-3 … and trains like he does. His mission has been to maximize everything he has been given. He has done that. You won’t find a more humble kid. He’s kind and polite to others. He has that mixture of talent and humility. Just a fantastic kid.”

A bump to Class 5A has caught Tatsch’s attention.

“One thing,” he said. “There are not weeks when we can take it easy.”

Alex Tatsch

Latrobe

Senior

6-foot-3/222 pounds

RB/LB

Stars: 4

Committed to: Penn State

Other Division I offers: Notre Dame, Pitt, West Virginia, USC, Michigan State, Stanford, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Marshall, Boston College, Virginia, Temple, Akron, Kentucky, Syracuse, South Carolina, Duke, Cincinnati, Liberty, and Connecticut.

2023 statistics: 111 tackles, four sacks, four interceptions … 600 yards rushing, 6 TDs

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Latrobe