Before Hudl highlights, Twitter offers, and recruiting websites took over high school football, Ron Graham was already carrying national attention out of Penn Hills High School.

People around Pittsburgh remember the hard hits, athleticism, and dominance on Friday nights — but many younger fans may not realize just how big his name became nationally during the late 1990s. Graham was named to the prestigious USA Today All-American team and was considered one of the top football prospects in the country coming out of Penn Hills.

At a time when Western Pennsylvania football was loaded with talent, Graham stood out because of his size, speed, versatility, and physical style of play. His recruitment became one of the biggest stories in the WPIAL, eventually leading him to Penn State Nittany Lions football — one of the premier college football programs in America.

Even years later, Graham’s name still appears among some of the greatest players in WPIAL history. Long before social media hype and recruiting rankings became mainstream, Ron Graham represented an era where your reputation was built strictly off dominance on the field. And in Pittsburgh football circles, people who saw him play still talk about how special he truly was.

 

When did you realize football could take you somewhere beyond Penn Hills?

I realized that football was going to take me further my freshman year in HS. Back then freshman didn’t play varsity, they played on the 9th grade team at Linton. Being called up to varsity was a huge accomplishment and that gave me a lot of confidence. When I was able to earn a starting spot at TE coming out of camp it gave me the confidence that I could compete on that level and possibly on the collegiate level.  Things kept improving from there and after my sophomore season I had my eyes set on earning a D-1 scholarship and competing on a very high level.

 

What was it like being considered one of the top players in the country before social media existed?

Being considered one of the top players in the country was a great honor. When i was in school I didn’t necessarily appreciate what that meant. Being considered one of the best players amongst hundreds of thousands HS football players is mind blowing. Given the day and time we live in now it was an even greater honor because of the way things were shared and communicated back then. We had newspapers, publications, recruiting services, camps, and word of mouth. We played before the internet had any type of entertainment value. We weren’t able to google people, we couldn’t pull up highlights on YouTube or Hudl. Today, you can type a players name in and it will give you any information related to football. If you tried to google anything from 1997 it would be hard to find out much information on players from that time and before. Back then it was everything to see your name in the paper on Saturday mornings during football season and if you got a picture in there it was even better. I think the recognition was a little bit more difficult to earn back then so it was appreciated a little differently.

 

Do you think younger athletes today understand how difficult WPIAL football was during your era?

I don’t think that there would be a clear understanding of how difficult the WPIAL and the Quad East alone were back in the day. First, the game is played a lot differently these days. With the changes for player safety, the style of play that is used today, and the evolution of the athlete (bigger stronger, faster) has had a major impact on how the game is played today compared to 30 years ago. The competition was a lot different back then with the conference alignments. The Quad East included Penn Hills, Woodland Hills, Central Catholic, Plum, Gateway  and McKeesport. The rivalries back then were unmatched. We went 7-3 my freshman and sophomore seasons and didn’t make the playoffs, that gives you an idea of how tough the competition was back then. The level of D-1 talent that came out of there in my 4 years was insane, too many names to list. We had 2 15-0 PA state champions come out of the Quad East in 94 (McKeesport and PH) The WPIAL and City League were loaded with talent, but I think the old Quad East was hands down the toughest conference.

 

What made Penn Hills football different back then?

I think the biggest difference between now and then is the commitment and consistency. That is no knock on today’s players and coaches, it was just a little different back then. Most of the guys that played on the team grew up together, came up through midget football together, played together for Linton for 2 or 3 years. There was a level of familiarity back then that made things smoother for us. A lot of our parents were coaches when we were younger and I was fortunate enough to be coached by my dad during my last 2 years at Penn Hills. He is the greatest coach that i have ever had. He introduced me to the game that i love to this day. First indirectly, my dad played semi pro ball here for the Wolf Pack and the Ironman. He would always have me around the game, I remember going to Mellon Park and watching him play flag football on the weekends. Then he began to coach the East End Raiders and that gave me another level of exposure to the game. Most importantly he taught me the mental part of the game. Having him provide that type of foundation for me gave me a totally different perspective of the game and really was the key to taking my game to another level. We had plenty of other great coaches there during my time that had a significant impact on my experience at Penn Hills. Coach Gordon, Timko, Dunker, Sinkula, Gelesky, and Dr. Rogal to name a few. There were so many more people who were impactful during my time at Penn Hills and most of these men I am still in contact with to this day and that is a blessing because it was more of a family than it was a team.

 

What was the recruiting process like when schools around the country started calling?

Recruiting was totally different 30 years ago. The majority of the communication was done via mail. I would come home some days to piles of letter, media guides, and anything else they were allowed to send to you. Late in my sophomore year i realized that 95% of the things I received were sent to thousands of other high school players. During my jr year the recruiting started to pick up. We were winning and we had some guys on the team (Mike and Demond) who were attracting a lot of D-1 attention combined with the other talent the we faced on a weekly basis.  It might sound crazy but handwritten letters were a sign that there was an interest in you specifically. When I began to receive those letters it made it seem a little bit more personal and that this could be a real possibility for me. During my senior year it was crazy!!!! The phone calls used to come in after 6:30 pm during the week and they didn’t stop. I sat and talked with too many coaches to remember off the top of my head and some of the offers were crazy. I had a coach from Clemson offer 3 of my boys scholarships if I committed to them. The only thing i would have done differently is wouldn’t have committed during my jr year. I would have let the recruiting process play out a little more and see what everyone had to offer.

 

Why did you ultimately choose Penn State Nittany Lions football?

I ultimately chose Penn State because it felt like a family atmosphere up there. State College is about a 2 hour drive from Pgh so we used to go up all the time. The unofficial visits are what sealed it for me. When I got a chance to go up and just catch the program on a regular day of practice i was able to get a real feel for what it was like up there. There was no huge production like they do for official visits and spring games. I was able to get a feel for the vibe in the locker room, sitting and talking to coaches and players, and even getting to experience the campus life a little bit. There were some great people up there who always welcomed me with open arms and it just felt like the right fit. i was looking for an opportunity to play college football on a high level and what better opportunity than Penn State and Big Ten football. Like I said earlier, i wish that i would have allowed the recruiting process to play all the way out but I know I made the best decision and I don’t regret it one bit.

 

Who were some of the toughest players you competed against in high school?

The WPIAL was loaded with from 93-96.  The Quad East was loaded back the so I was fortunate to play against some of the toughest competition that the Quad A had to offer. Some of the players that come to mind are:

Brandon Short (McKeesport)

Lavar Arrington (N.H.),

Eric Kasperowicz (N.H.),

Melvin Cobbs (W.H.),

Marc Bulger (C.C.),

Madei Williams (W.H.)

Cullen Hawkins (U.S.C.)

Jermaine Cromardie (McKeesport)

Delrico Fletcher (W.H.)

Brandon Payne (W.H.)

Justin Kurpekis (C.C.)

Brian Godfrey (C.C.)

Chris Edmonds (W.H.)

Mark Ponko (F.R.)

Troy Nunes (Butler)

 

I’m sure there are quite a few people that I missed and probably some of the guys who may have been younger when I was a senior. This list just shows the level of talent that we faced week in and week out. This doesn’t include a lot of the talented guys in the WPIAL and City League that we didn’t play against.

 

Looking back now, what moment from your Penn Hills career stands out the most?

There are 3 moment the standout from my career at Penn Hills. The first is earning a starting position as a freshman. That moment helped build my confidence in my ability to compete on that level. The talent level was high on our team and the teams we played were always tough. Being able to contribute and get some experience set the tone for the next 3 years. The next memory is the 1995 season. That season was special from start to finish. We had a group of guys that weren’t just a team but a family. Most of had come up playing football together at some point before we got to HS. Many of our players were either returning starters or had gotten significant playing time the previous season. Going 15-0 and winning a state championship is an accomplishment that most teams don’t experience. We were fortunate enough to have been able to achieve that ultimate team goal. The final moment was being ranked #1 in the country  by USA Today my senior year (1996). We were able to hold that spot for the whole season. Unfortunately, it came to an end when we lost a tough game in the playoffs.

 

How do you want younger Penn Hills athletes to remember your legacy?

I would like to be remembered as a player who gave 100 percent every time, I put that PH uniform on. I took a lot of pride in trying to be the best teammate possible and doing whatever it took to help us win. I hope that in my time there I was able to make a contribution to the great tradition that Penn Hills has.

 

Do you feel your generation of players gets enough recognition today?

That’s a great question! 30 years is a long time ago! Most of us have our own kids who are that age now and maybe even making a name of their own. Like I said before, the access to that information is limited compared to what you can access in football today. On the other hand, social media does allow for those conversations to happen and for people’s accomplishments to be remembered. The one thing that is hard to come by is any type of footage. I know that some of the games from back then are posted on YouTube but the isn’t the best quality. I think I speak for all of us who played in that era when I say we appreciate you doing these articles and giving folks their flowers.