NFL training camps are next for former Pa. high school stars

Former Roman Catholic football coach Joe McCourt recalled how Will Fuller's first three catches as a starter for the Cahillites went for touchdowns.

Kevin Pelligrini, Malvern Prep's former football boss, remembered how Carl Nassib saved his best game for last with the Friars.

Michael Hawkins, the last football coach at now-closed Germantown, recollected how Will Parks wasn't afraid of the coach's laser pointer during film sessions.

After five former Philadelphia-area high school players were selected in the NFL draft last week, former coaches and family members reminisced about them while seeing a promising future for current area players.

"Forever, we always had to hear about how great the western side of Pennsylvania was," said McCourt, who led Roman, his alma mater, from 2008 to 2014.

"People always think of [Philadelphia] as a basketball city," said current Southern football coach Frank Natale, who coached Jihad Ward at now-closed Bok. "But there is so much football talent here, it's frightening."

Will Fuller was an unknown when he arrived at Roman as a sophomore after North Catholic closed. In Week 2 against Malvern Prep, however, his impact was immediate.

"The first three times he caught the ball he scored touchdowns," said McCourt, who attended Fuller's draft day celebration at Maggie's Waterfront Cafe. "Right then and there it was like, 'Wow, we have something here. This kid's pretty special.' "

Fuller graduated as the city's all-time leader with 2,380 career receiving yards. Ben Franklin's Javier Buffalo surpassed him last season.

Before Jihad Ward crushed quarterbacks for the Illini, a recent Sports Illustrated article reported, he made a 241/2-mile round-trip commute while playing football at Globe Institute of Technology, a junior college in New York City.

His five-day-a-week treks totaled about 200 minutes of transit, which included bus, subway, and ferry rides, and a seven-block walk, according to SI.com.

"My wife [Kathy] was crying," Natale said of watching Ward get drafted on TV. "If you know him and know what he went through . . . I'm just so glad to see he's graduating and that he got drafted. Now we're all Raiders fans, my whole family."

Carl Nassib had at least 21/2 sacks in his final game as a Friar, which Pellegrini recalled was a Thanksgiving Day win against St. Joseph's Prep.

"He was a menace from the defensive end position," said Pellegrini, the head coach from 2009 to 2013.

Carl's older brother, Ryan, also a Malvern graduate, is a quarterback with the New York Giants.

Another Nassib, John, is a 6-foot-7 sophomore defensive end at Delaware.

Jeff Humble, who coached Daryl Worley at Penn Charter, still remembers the do-it-all player's toughness as a freshman starter.

That season, Worley suffered an ankle injury against the Hun School, which had postgraduate players. But he didn't want to leave the game. The ankle later caused him to miss several games.

"That was the first moment when I thought, 'Wow, this kid really loves football,' " said Humble, who coached the Quakers from 2008 to 2013. "He did not want to come out of that game."

Worley went on to star at tailback, receiver, safety, cornerback, and kick returner for the Quakers.

He joins two other Penn Charter graduates in the NFL: Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons and Justin Renfrow of the Dallas Cowboys.

Delane Hart-Johnson, a sophomore wide receiver at New Mexico, is the younger brother of Parks, a safety who was praised by Hawkins for film-study habits that he passed on to his brother.

In fact, the brothers faced each other in last season's New Mexico Bowl in which Hart-Johnson scored a 92-yard receiving touchdown.

"I played against him in his last college football game," said Hart-Johnson, who graduated from Martin Luther King. "That was big for both of us. All the dreams we wished for came true this year."

Hawkins said, "This is an opportunity for [Parks] to prove that he belongs there. I don't care about the sixth round. You got drafted. The main thing is you got your foot in the door. Now it's up to you to prove that you belong there. If he gets his chance, I believe he'll do well."

The latest draft class should bring only more recruiting opportunities to the Philadelphia area's District 12, which has had eight state football champions since 2009.

St. Joseph's Prep senior running back D'Andre Swift and Imhotep sophomore all-purpose stud Isheem Young have already drawn interest and offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, and Florida State, among others.

"There's a lot of talent here that a lot of coaches don't get to see," said Young, who recalled working out with Parks in the offseason. "Everybody was sleeping on Will Parks. Look at him now."

"It's definitely motivation for me," Swift said, "because it shows that people from Philly can play ball, and people are starting to recognize that."

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