Brady O’Hara, 3-star Penn State commit, and North Catholic football have more to prove in 2024
-
A football coach helps guide tight end Brady O'Hara during practice at North Catholic on Tuesday, August 13, 2024. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle. 08/16/24
-
North Catholic head coach Chris Rizzo starts running drills at the end of practice on Tuesday, August 13, 2024. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle. 08/16/24
-
Quarterback Joey Felitsky hands the ball off during practice drills at North Catholic on Tuesday, August 13, 2024. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle. 08/16/24
-
Tight End Brady O'Hara celebrates after scoring during practice at North Catholic on Tuesday, August 13, 2024. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle. 08/16/24
-
Ryker Kennedy washes off his mouth peace during practice at North Catholic on Tuesday, August 13, 2024. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle. 08/16/24
-
A North Catholic athlete catches the ball during practice during quarterback drills on Tuesday, August 13, 2024. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle. 08/16/24
-
A north Catholic player wears a “Battle” bandana during practice on Tuesday, August 13, 2024. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle. 08/16/24
-
North Catholic athletes encourage one another during practice late in the afternoon on Tuesday, August 13, 2024. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle. 08/16/24
Brady O’Hara’s playmaking and size caught the attention of scouts and coaches a while ago.
He’s a unique weapon as North Catholic football’s 6-foot-6, 245-pound tight end, big and fast and projectionable as a likely future offensive lineman at Penn State, where he committed in 2023. He’s a disruptive force as a defensive end for the Trojans’ as well, where that same size and speed puts him in opposing backfields regularly.
But it’s not an acrobatic catch or demonstrative stop at the line of scrimmage NC head coach Chris Rizzo remembers most.
The moment that sticks out for Rizzo, in his second year with the Trojans, came last year in a game against Hampton. The team’s starting long snapper went down with an injury mid-game. Rizzo or his staff could’ve plucked a lesser player to handle the position in an emergency capacity.
But no. O’Hara volunteered right away.
“So, this guy just says, 'Coach, I'll do it. I can do it,’” Rizzo said during a recent practice at North Catholic High School as the Trojans prepared for the 2024 season.
Rizzo was “begging that we don’t have to get into a punt scenario” the rest of the game. NC couldn’t avoid it, though, and O’Hara had to snap for a punt in the second half. He got the ball off cleanly, and got the Trojans “through the entire game, and we end up winning that game” 28-16 on Oct. 6.
“I think that that willingness to go outside of his comfort zone, do what he needs to do for the team, you know, not worry about, 'Hey, if I jack this snap up, how's it going to make me look?'” Rizzo said. “He's just willing to go in there and do that. It's probably one of my favorite things.”
O’Hara is now the team’s full-time long snapper for 2024, adding to his duties in the other two phases of the game. A three-star recruit ranked ninth in the state in the class of 2025 by 247Sports, he had his pick of multiple Power Four schools before deciding to join coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions.
But Rizzo appreciates O’Hara’s willingness to do the unsung work and also grow from a “raw” talent into a complete player who runs clean routes, has soft hands and is becoming a more vocal leader. Rizzo also thinks O’Hara’s work on defense is underappreciated.
O’Hara, though, is driven to prove more. He’s enjoying his offensive line training when he works with Penn State — he picked the school because he said Franklin was the only coach who gave an honest assessment of where he thought O’Hara would play, on the line, in college — but he also sees himself as a valuable weapon for NC’s offense. He had 16 catches for 308 yards and two touchdowns last year.
“I am still trying to prove something, because all these kids think I'm just gonna be a tackle,” he said. “But I really want to show my abilities of what I've worked (on) in the offseason, my speed, my hands, show that I'm bigger than just a guy that can block.”
He’s also motivated after last year’s 5-6 campaign and WPIAL first-round playoff exit. He and his teammates have lofty state championship aspirations.
“State championship's the one thing that coach always makes us trust in our mind is every state championship team, players lead, coaches coach and the players will get us to the championship,” O’Hara said. “The WPIAL is a good trophy to have. You can have it in our school. But one thing we're really looking for is a state trophy.”
“And I think we have a really good team, and the coaching staffs really coming together,” said senior center/defensive tackle Roman Sylvester, who has started with O’Hara for a couple years.
O’Hara and his teammates feel more comfortable in their second year in Rizzo’s systems, and O’Hara and Sylvester are high on a stable of pass catchers who will be targeted, along with O’Hara, by quarterback Joey Felitsky.
But winning the WPIAL and a PIAA title will take O’Hara, and his teammates, making those sacrifice plays like he did a season ago in Hampton and let success come from that.
“His job is simply to focus on going out there and putting together the most complete senior season that you could ask for, right?,” Rizzo said. “Put it all on tape.”
