College recruiters hit the mother lode last year in Western Pennsylvania.

There were so many outstanding seniors with national-caliber ability that schools that haven't mined area talent recently sent representatives.

"Ones that hadn't been here for a while, schools like LSU, Florida, Florida State, Alabama, were in here," said Joe Butler of Metro Index Scouting. "It was like the old days back in the 1960s and '70s because there were so many nationally ranked players."

Leading the Class of 2008 was Jeannette quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who scored a touchdown in his first game with Ohio State. But there were others who attracted recruiters from big-time programs: Aliquippa's Jonathan Baldwin (Pitt), Montour's Christian Wilson (North Carolina), Trinity's Andrew Sweat (Penn State) and Mike Yancich (Penn State), Thomas Jefferson's Lucas Nix (Pitt) and Hopewell's David Posluszny (Notre Dame).

OK, so what about this year's talent crop?

Well, it's sort of like having a date one weekend with the prom queen or king and then going out with the girl or guy next door seven days later. It's nice, but the quality isn't the same.

"This year's class is a good group. There are some talented players, but it's just not the same as last year's," Butler said. "That's not a knock against anybody, it's just a class like last year's comes around once every decade or two."

What the WPIAL is loaded with this year are quality linebackers and linemen. No surprise there. Those are the types of players the area cranks out year after year.

The linebackers who standout are Dorian Bell of Gateway, Dan Mason of Penn Hills, B.J. Stevens from Gateway and Todd Thomas from Beaver Falls. The top linemen are Tyrone Ezell from Steel Valley, Adam Gress from West Mifflin and Ryan Schlieper from North Allegheny.

After only one game Trinity High School coach Ed Dalton believes he knows what school has the best set of running backs in the WPIAL.

"Canon-McMillan just might have the best backfield," Dalton said. "Everybody knew about Mike Hull, but the [Chad] Hagan kid, who is back out this year, is every bit as good."

Hull, who is 6 feet 1 and 215 pounds, started last year in the backfield for the Big Macs and rushed for more that 1,000 yards.

Hagan, 6-1, 210, saw plenty of playing time for Canon-McMillan as a freshman, then decided not to play football last season.

In Canon-McMillan's 32-7 season-opening victory against Trinity, Hull rushed 16 times for 103 yards and a touchdown, and Hagan carried 11 times for 74 yards and a score.

There weren't a lot of things Dalton was pleased with in Trinity's loss to Canon-McMillan. One of them was the play of guard Hunter Landok, a 6-3, 305-pound junior.

"He graded out at 88 percent, which is outstanding," Dalton said. "I know that he had at least six pancakes [blocks], maybe more.

"He just had a heck of a game, one of those that just jumps out at you when you watch the film."

Landok didn't get much varsity playing time last year. Now, he's starting at the strong-side guard spot for the Hillers.

"He can move pretty well for a guy his size," Dalton said. "It was a good start to the season for him."

Fort Cherry will name its stadium for late coach Jim Garry at a home game Sept. 19.

Garry, whose son, Tim, is the Rangers coach, was one of the best in the WPIAL when he was patrolling the sideline and ranks right there with other great Western Pennsylvania coaches such as Lindy Lauro (New Castle), Chuck Klausing (Braddock), Art Walker (Mt. Lebanon), Pat Tarquinio (Beaver), Larry Bruno (Beaver Falls) and current coaches Jim Render (Upper St. Clair), Joe Hamilton (Blackhawk) and Guy Montecalvo (Canon-McMillan).

In 44 seasons, 43 at Fort Cherry, Jim Garry won 265 games.

There's no question that Canon-McMillan's Big Macs Stadium is the place to be Friday night. That's when the Big Macs entertain talented Woodland Hills in a Class AAAA non-conference game.

While the game won't mean anything in regard to conference standings, it will be something of an acid test for Canon-McMillan.

Other noteworthy contests Friday have Monessen at Mapletown in the Tri-County South, while Greensburg Central Catholic visits Washington and Trinity entertains powerful Thomas Jefferson.