Andy Close
LATROBE, Pa. – At Presidents’ Athletic Conference Media Day on Tuesday, Thiel head coach Mike Winslow discussed in detail his 55-man freshmen class.
He also spoke glowingly about several Warren County alums who are a part of that class and have a chance to make an immediate impact.
Eisenhower’s Owen Trumbull and Jared Beers were instrumental in helping lead the Knights to an unbeaten regular season in 2020, advancing to the District 10 Class 1A title game in the process, a run that included a thrilling double-overtime win over West Middlesex in the semifinals.
Trumbull and Beers are part of that big freshman class, Trumbull as a quarterback and Beers as a middle linebacker.
“They’re awesome kids who come from good families,” Winslow said. “We also signed Alex Anderson from Warren (a sophomore). “Went up and watched them (Eisenhower) play a game late in the season. Was able to watch them play live. I enjoyed the trip up, that drive in the fall was really neat. Owen had an incredible game, I believe, against Iroquois.”
Trumbull did indeed have an incredible game for Winslow to witness, throwing for six touchdowns in a win against the Braves.
Trumbull and Beers were unquestioned leaders for the Knights in 2020.
Trumbull completed 62 percent of his passes for 1,294 yards and an 18-3 touchdown to interception ratio.
Beers had 62 tackles, 16.5 of which went for a loss, as well as 3.5 sacks.
Both were First-Team All-Region 5 selections on both offense and defense.
“I met their families and those guys visited campus numerous times and got a chance to not only connect with them but their families as well,” Winslow said. “They’re good people, they’re good students and there’s an opportunity for both of them to compete for playing time this fall.”
The Tomcats are coming off an 0-10 season in 2019, and were one of two PAC teams to not compete in the spring season because of the ongoing pandemic, with Case Western being the other.
And while Winslow admits it’s not an ideal situation to have such a young roster, there are also benefits to it as well.
“It’s not ideal in any program, you want to have a veteran group,” Winslow said. “You like a veteran group to be leading the charge, but this is where we’re at. We have a number of young players who are going to get an opportunity to play early and sometimes that’s a good selling point for them, they’re not going to have to wait around three or four years and they’ll get an opportunity to play early in their careers. Some of them are going to have the opportunity to be four-year starters, so sometimes that can be an advantage as well in the recruiting process.
“Being really young, going against a team with 40 seniors, there are going to be growing pains. But sometimes that’s part of the fun is watching them grow and develop.”
Thiel kicks off its 2021 fall season at Allegheny College on Sept. 4 at 1 p.m. before opening PAC play at home against Washington & Jefferson on Sept. 11 at 1 p.m.
