TribHSSN Preseason WPIAL Football All-Star team: Jeremiah Hasley, Pine-Richland

By: Jerin Steele
Tuesday, July 6, 2021 | 5:35 PM

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The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 22 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park.

Jeremiah Hasley went on a visit to Duke in late June and left with an offer.

By the time he got back home, he knew he was going to be a Blue Devil.

Less than 72 hours after his visit, Hasley, a senior linebacker/H-back at Pine-Richland, gave a verbal commitment to the Blue Devils.

Now that his college decision has been made, Hasley is ready to turn his focus toward being a leader for defending PIAA and WPIAL Class 5A champion Pine-Richland, which will look much different this fall.

Not only did the Rams lose a bevy of key players to graduation, the entire coaching staff, led by Eric Kasperowicz, was let go by the school district.

The coaching shakeup created some tumultuous times within the school district, but Hasley wants to be a catalyst in helping rally the team and community together as a new season approaches.

“I want to get our team back to where it is and repeat as state champions,” Hasley said. “I want to lead our team. We’re going through a struggle right now because of all that happened. We have to get focused and get prepared for our senior year and the 2021 season.”

Hasley said the new coaching staff, led by head coach Steve Campos, has been very accommodating. He also said the transition process won’t be easy, but he feels everyone involved is ready for the challenge.

“We have a short timeframe to get to know these guys before we get on the field for practice a month or two before our first game,” Hasley said. “It’s hard to do that, but these guys are helping us out. It’s a difficult situation, but the coaches know what we have gone through. They are doing their best to make the transition as easy as possible. They know what our expectations are for this year. We told them that right from the start. We’re still excited about this year because we know where we can be at the end of the year.”

Being a leader was something Hasley didn’t have to worry about much last year because that role was filled by Luke Miller and Miguel Jackson, among others, on a senior-heavy defense. Now that those guys have graduated, Hasley knows the onus is on him.

“Our seniors took that leadership role, and I was just out there to play ball,” Hasley said. “Now that I’m a senior, I have to take that role and lead our team because we only have a few guys back on defense. I have to step my game up and use my play to lead by example. I feel like Jackson and Miller did that last year. Luke Miller led the team in tackles, but he also led the team in energy every day and was encouraging players. Now they are looking at me, so I want to emulate that.”

An example of Hasley being a leader is his willingness to move from outside linebacker to middle linebacker this fall to fill in for Miller. Hasley was third on the team with 60 tackles last year, including 11¹⁄₂ for loss.

“I played middle linebacker a few years before I moved to outside,” Hasley said. “It’s definitely less about covering and more in the box, but I’m used to it. It really wasn’t a hard change for me. It wasn’t a change to help me out but more about helping the defense out because I know the defense better than anyone. I want to teach our younger guys, and I can’t really teach them on the outside. I need to be in the middle getting the plays out to everyone. That’s how I can best help the team.”

Jeremiah Hasley

Pine-Richland

Senior

6-foot-3/220 pounds

LB/H-Back

Stars: 3 (Rivals.com)

Committed to: Duke

Division I offers: Kent State, Army, Navy, Air Force, Richmond, Furman, Holy Cross, Fordham, William & Mary, Youngstown State, Dartmouth, Lehigh, Austin Peay, Harvard, Columbia and Penn.

2020 statistics: 60 tackles, 2 sacks; 23 catches, 338 yards, 2 TDs; 9 carries, 70 yards, TD