Harlan on recruiting: Central Catholic’s Weathers collects college offers

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, November 1, 2017 | 7:15 PM

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College offer No. 26 arrived earlier this week for Khalil Weathers, a Central Catholic senior with plenty of options. This time it was Brown, his sixth Ivy League school, and the feeling never gets old.

“It's always the same excitement,” Weathers said, “because it's just like getting my first, a new opportunity.”

Among uncommitted WPIAL seniors, the 6-foot, 190-pound cornerback likely has the most offers. His list includes FBS scholarships from Air Force, Akron, Army, Ball State, Buffalo, Florida International, Kent State and Navy. Duquesne and Robert Morris are among his FCS options, a list heavy in Ivy and Patriot League schools, a testament to his academic strength.

He plans to commit before January and took an official visit to Yale last weekend.

“I want to know I'm at a place that will set me up for success, on and off the field and after college,” Weather said. “Ivy League is fine with me. MAC is fine with me. If I do get any P5 schools, that's (an option). I'm just kind of waiting at this moment.”

He'll wait for the traditional signing day in February to ink his letter of intent. He remains curious whether a Power 5 school might watch his film and take interest — Stanford requested his information — but that's not an obsession.

“I've got to live with what I have and go from there,” Weathers said. “They're offering the same amount of (scholarship or aid) money. It's not anything different. And at some of them, the education is better. So I'm not really complaining about it.”

Weathers has a good combination of size, technique and intellect, Central Catholic defensive coordinator Dave Fleming said. If anything, questions about speed could be a factor that's keeping Power 5 schools away.

“Coming out of the spring this year with a little bit of a foot injury, he wasn't able to go to the big-time camps and hit the 40-(yard) clock in the time that you need to hit to get those offers at the position that he's playing,” Fleming said. “I think that hurt him a little bit. Other than that, I really can't see the overall correlation.”

Weathers has shown his speed on Friday nights. He intercepted six passes and scored four times as a junior when the Vikings won the WPIAL Class 6A title. He's had one pick this season and returned it for a touchdown, as teams maybe avoid him.

But overall his role has expanded. Weathers starts on offense and defense for Central Catholic (8-2), the No. 2 seed in the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs.

He transitioned from wideout to tailback midseason and has rushed for 445 yards on 69 carries. He's had more than 10 carries three times and has averaged 132 yards in those games. His best was a 26-carry, 178-yard, three-touchdown effort against Norwin in Week 8.

Campbell, an FCS school, wants him for offense.

Fleming compared Weathers to Ronnie Jones, another Central Catholic two-way star now playing safety at Toledo.

“Khalil's been pretty dynamic for us,” Fleming said. “He's been pulling a lot of duties for us. He's been playing the corner, he's been carrying the ball playing tailback, he's returning kicks and punts. He's had a lot on his plate for us this year, and he's proven to be pretty good at it.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Central Catholic, Greensburg C.C.