The WPIAL ‘23 Class has been good to Penn State.
In a little more than a week, three western PA players will sign with Penn State: four-star Quinton Martin (Belle Vernon), and three-stars Anthony Speca and Peter Gonzalez, who each played at Pittsburgh Central Catholic.
Between late Monday night and late Tuesday morning, Penn State got two more WPIAL commits, each in the preferred-walk-on department.
The first was Canon-McMillan’s Tyler Armstead, and now, Mt. Lebanon’s Beckham Dee has joined the party. Dee is a 6-foot-1, 220-pound linebacker from Mt. Lebanon High School. At Mt. Lebanon, he played three of his four seasons under current Penn State Director of High School relations, Bob Palko.
Very thankful to be able to commit to a PWO opportunity from Penn State! @Coach_Elby @Coachdanconnor @CoachTerryPSU @PennStateFball @coachjfranklin @Coach_Collodi @Tipton_05 @PineStar11 @MarcusAdemilola pic.twitter.com/uxM6Eon74C
— Beckham Dee (@BeckhamDee9) December 12, 2023
Dee wrote on social media that he is “very thankful to be able to commit to a PWO opportunity from Penn State.”
In Dee’s sophomore season, he helped Lebo to a State Championship.
Palko coached at Lebo through the 2022 season before resigning in January, stepping back due to “personal health issues,” he told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, while clarifying that he wasn’t retiring from coaching.
West Allegheny— where Palko was a quarterback in the 1970s— is where Palko spent most of his coaching career. He was there from 1995-2018, and in that time, made West A one of the WPIAL’s strongest programs. It took Palko just three seasons to make his alma mater a champion. West Allegheny won the district title in 1997 and won three more over the next four seasons. Palko ended his time at West Allegheny after the 2018 seasons with eight district championships and a state title, only missing the playoffs three times over 24 years.
