Harbor Creek football star lineman chooses West Virginia

After another impressive football season in the fall, Nick Krahe dedicated himself to becoming a Division I prospect.

He has the height and the strength to be an offensive lineman at the next level, but his weight was on the low end for Division I. Last winter, while dominating inside for the Harbor Creek basketball team, Krahe lived in the weight room and put on close to 40 pounds.

In late March and April, Krahe, now a rising senior for the Huskies, started hitting camps and combines while also emerging as a top thrower in D-10 during track and field. His first Division I offer arrived on April 2, starting a fast and furious recruitment period.

Krahe spent months becoming a top offensive line prospect in Pennsylvania, racking up numerous Division I offers before verbally committing to West Virginia on Monday.

“West Virginia has a family atmosphere, which really sold it for me,” Krahe said. “They are bringing in some special guys and I want to be part of that family.”

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Putting on weight

At 6 feet 5 inches tall, Krahe weighs in at 290 pounds with quick feet and hands. He ended last fall at 255 pounds before committing to putting on the right kind of weight.

“His film was obviously huge during the recruiting process and teams like to see how long your arms are and your flexibility and strength when it comes to linemen,” said Harbor Creek coach Troy Budziszewski. “His weight coming up was huge. He played at 255 last year and that's small for D-I. In December and January, he committed to getting his weight up and he did all of the work. That is why he has the offers he has.”

Krahe showed off his progress by becoming a double-double candidate each time he took the floor in basketball as a top scorer and rebounder before winning the District 10 Class 3A championship in the shot put. He also took third in the shot put at the D-10 meet. Krahe went on to finish eighth in the state in the shot put with a throw over 52 feet.

“They want me at tackle but not sure which side yet,” said Krahe about where West Virginia wants him to play. “It all depends on my development this year and when I get there.”

Constant texts, phone calls

Krahe's first Division I offer came in from Saint Francis College on April 2. He steadily received offers from small Division I schools and several MAC schools as well. On June 11, everything changed for Krahe. He impressed at the Pitt football camp and rumors started to swell that the Panthers were close to becoming his first Power 5 conference offer.

Maryland beat Pitt to it on June 13. Once the Terps offered Krahe, he jumped on the radar of numerous major college football programs.

Boston College and Pitt followed with an offer two days later before West Virginia offered on June 20.

“It was hectic, to say the least, going through all the phone calls and texts. It was hard to sort through it all, but I think I found the right choice,” Krahe said. “I like how Morgantown is a small town with no major teams near it so everyone is a Mountaineers fan. They have a lot of passionate fans and it's a great fit for me.”

Krahe, who is rated as a three-star recruit by several services, also had offers from nearly every Ivy League school along with Duquesne, Maine, Albany, Richmond, Air Force, Buffalo, New Hampshire, Bryant, Lafayette, Toledo, Marshall, Kent State and UConn.

He was meeting with, calling or texting coaches constantly for weeks as the process became more intense as more schools jumped in.

“It was a lot of phone calls and texts and appointments with coaches at school. Our administration was great about letting me leave class to meet with coaches and recruiters,” Budziszewski said. “It was busy, but that's how recruiting goes mostly. Once one team in a conference or region targets a kid, the others don't want to be left behind so once he was getting noticed it snowballed from there.”

Lifelong dream

“I've been playing football since the third grade and fell in love with the game,” Krahe said. “My freshman year I decided I wanted to play in college and put the work in. I take a lot of pride playing on the offensive line and watching the running backs score and keeping our quarterback clean.”

Krahe is the latest Division I football player to play for the Huskies with several other big names in the past including Stephen Blose at Youngstown State and Brian Siverling at Penn State, among others.

“This is big for the community and exciting as well. It gives everyone a gauge of what a Division I football player looks like,” Budziszewski said. “I'm very happy for Nick and his family. It's a great family and Nick has worked his tail off.”

Before Krahe heads to West Virginia, he has one last season with the Huskies, which begins on Aug. 26.

“It's definitely a relief to have this decided before the season,” Krahe said. “I'm really looking forward to playing with the guys one last time.”

Contact Tom Reisenweber at treisenweber@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNreisenweber.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Harbor Creek football star lineman Nick Krahe commits to West Virginia