ESPNHS Pennsylvania

A quintet of football stars from Pennsylvania were honored today on the ESPNHS All-American team.

Senior tight end Colin Thompson of Archbishop Wood and senior Noah Spence of Bishop McDevitt earned first team All-American nods. Thompson, according to the list...

"Whether run blocking or catching passes, Thompson made a huge impact for the Vikings, who rolled to the Class AAA state title. Rated the nation's No. 1 tight end by ESPNU, Thompson has committed to Florida."

Spence, according to the list...

"Spence, who was named Gatorade State Player of the Year, finished the season with 108 tackles and 12.5 sacks while leading McDevitt to the Class AAA state final. The Ohio State recruit is rated No. 4 in the ESPNU 150."

In addition to the two first-teamers, senior running back Rushel Shell of Hopewell made the second team. On the third team was junior offensive lineman Robert Kugler of North Allegheny and senior offensive lineman Brandon Arcidiacono of Archbishop Wood.

For the full list of ESPNHS All-Americans, click here.

Each week, we’ll take an in-depth look at our All-State preseason football team and let you know how a few of those athletes are faring as the season progresses.

This week, one of the nation's top players puts up one of the nation's best performances, a quarterback reminds us of an NFL player and an offensive lineman doesn't get enough credit because of his name.

STOCK WATCH

UP — Rushel Shell, Hopewell, RB

In what was arguably the top performance in the nation this past weekend, Shell pummeled the Moon defense in a 55-28 win. He rushed for 367 yards, added 101 more in receiving yards and scored a total of six touchdowns. Shell is rapidly closing in on the WPIAL record; he's just 134 yards away and could easily surpass that mark this weekend against Mount Lebanon.

DOWN — Brandon Arcidiacono, Archbishop Wood, OL

Arcidiacono is having a fine season, and his team is one of the best in the state. But he may not even be the best player in the state named "Arcidiacono." That's because Ryan Arcidiacono of Neshaminy is poised to be one of the nation's top basketball players this winter. The nation's No. 34 player in the ESPNU 100 has verbally committed to Villanova. Brandon, though, is no slouch — he's committed to play football at Rutgers next fall.

UP — De'metrious Cox, Jeannette, QB

It's not all that uncommon for QBs to do most of the work with their feet; in fact, it's probably more common than a pure pocket passer. But it's not often you see a quarterback rush for 200+ yards. But Cox was at his best this past weekend, leading the Jayhawks to a 36-7 win over Waynesburg Central. Cox rushed for 201 and scored four touchdowns in the game. Performances like that remind us of shades of another star QB at Jeannette — Terrelle Pryor, the former Ohio State star who's now with the Oakland Raiders.