The Tatsch name has quickly become widely recognized in the Western Pennsylvania sports landscape over the last few years.

Alex Tatsch, who just graduated from Greater Latrobe, was one of the top football players in Pennsylvania last fall. He is entering his freshman year at Penn State in a couple months.

Right on his heels is younger brother Andy, a rising senior with the Wildcats who recently made his commitment to play football at Lehigh University.

“I really liked the coaches,” he remarked. “It’s a great academic school and a great education I can get for free. That’s something I knew I had to take advantage of. It’s a good environment.”

Tatsch fielded numerous offers from Division I schools, but it boiled down to Cornell, Buffalo, and Lehigh, with him eventually settling on the Mountain Hawks.

He will be a safety in college, but plays on both sides of the ball for Greater Latrobe. He was the Wildcats No. 1 receiver last year with 26 catches for 438 yards and four touchdowns. Although he feels he could play a receiving role at Lehigh as a tight end, his talent is best suited on the defensive side of the ball.

Tatsch had an upper hand in the process, having an older brother going through it a year ago. Alex gave his younger brother great advice on how to navigate his recruitment.

“Keep the things that are really important to me as my priorities,” he added. “All the schools show you all the bells and whistles, but do they have what you need to develop yourself, or is it just stuff to make them look good? Keep the priorities straight.”

It’ll be different this year without his brother playing alongside him at Greater Latrobe, but also with having a new coach. Tom McIntyre was hired as the head coach after Ron Prady resigned following last season.

“Coach Prady definitely brought a good mindset to us,” he mentioned. “He definitely left a lot for us to hold on to.”

With the season right around the corner, Tatsch still has things he wants to accomplish with his team. He knows that they are flying under the radar, but wants to accomplish more than people are expecting from the Wildcats.

“We just want to make it further than any Latrobe team ever has,” he said. “See how much we can win.”