‘Iron sharpens iron’: How Downingtown high schools keep on producing Power Five-bound offensive linemen

In Michael Matta’s Downingtown East football program, offensive linemen are a priority. Since taking over the program after the 2003 split of Downingtown High School, Matta has relied on an old-school, double-tight end, power style of offense.

In that offense, strong offensive line play is a requirement. Matta has taken steps to ensure that his offensive lines are up to the task, and he has built an internal culture of appreciation for the position group.

“We’ve emphasized offensive line and tight end more so than probably any other school in Pennsylvania,” Matta said. “When we do anything, starting with ninth graders, the offensive line always goes first.

“Being an offensive lineman at our school is a source of pride.”

A recent surge in offensive line talent at Downingtown West — the rival program five miles away — has also helped the area to become a recruiting hotspot for the position group, with both programs regularly producing Division I talent.

As West Virginia coach Neal Brown noted to reporters in December when discussing the signing of Downingtown West’s Cooper Young, “That’s an area that turns out a lot of really good offensive line prospects.”

Matta was inspired to build his program around the offensive line after coaching former Cougars standout Pat Devlin. At Downingtown East, Devlin was an Elite 11 quarterback who later played college football for Penn State and Delaware. Following Devlin’s departure from the program, Matta realized he wouldn’t always be able to count on having blue-chip recruits to drive the Cougars’ success.

A former offensive lineman himself, Matta felt that developing linemen was a variable he could control.

“We build our culture based on what we do in the weight room,” Matta said. “That’s one of the reasons why we’ve produced a lot of very, very good offensive linemen and why we’ve been very successful running the ball.”

Notable Downingtown East alumni include former Syracuse lineman and current Cougars assistant offensive line coach Mike Clark, former Rutgers starting right tackle Taj Alexander, and former Holy Cross offensive lineman Pat Restrepo. Junior interior offensive lineman Adham Abouraya is the Cougars’ current standout, and the three-star recruit committed to Pittsburgh in March.

Matta developed his philosophy to give his Downingtown East program the best chance to win on Friday nights. However, his culture has also helped prepare linemen for the more technical, rigorous nature of playing the position in college.

“The way Coach Matta and the rest of the coaches run the East program, it’s very similar to a college program,” Clark said. “We have our guys in the film room multiple days a week. We have our guys doing chalk talk, where we draw up plays and formations and have them draw their assignments.”

The outpouring of offensive line talent in the Downingtown area hasn’t just been limited to Matta’s program.

Perhaps the most notable to come through coach Mike Milano’s Downingtown West program in recent years is former four-star recruit and current Penn State offensive tackle Drew Shelton. As a freshman last season, the 6-foot-5, 300-pounder started five games at left tackle for the Nittany Lions.

At Downingtown West, Shelton came into Milano’s program as a tight end before switching positions as a sophomore and learning the physicality required to play offensive line.

» READ MORE: In his first season at Penn State, Downingtown High product Drew Shelton is ‘just having fun’

“For me, it was just repetition,” Shelton said. “Getting reps in practice, going against bigger guys — because our team had a bunch of bigger guys — blocking them in practice [helped] get the feel of what it was going to be like.

“It’s not easy to simulate game situations in practice. When we had so many bigger guys on our team, it was kind of easier to get that look that you needed.”

By Shelton’s senior year, he was joined on the Whippets’ offensive line by a pair of future Power Five linemen: the West Virginia-bound, 6-5, 280-pound Young from the 2023 class, as well as Ryan Howard, a 6-7, 315-pound class of 2024 standout who’s committed to join his brother, quarterback Will Howard, at Kansas State.

» READ MORE: Penn State football recruit Drew Shelton makes an impact in basketball with an assist from James Franklin

During Ryan Howard’s freshman year, he was on the second team. He spent that season watching Shelton and Young, learning footwork and technique. He also practiced against them, getting the same reps against older players that helped Shelton transform from a new lineman to a four-star recruit.

“Ever since I was a freshman, I was going up against those guys,” Howard said. “Iron sharpens iron. [It] really helped me form into the way that I play today. I give them a lot of credit for helping me … Being three [class] years consecutively, we kind of all help the one under us.”

That mentality of making each other better has been at the center of Downingtown West’s approach to development.

“Our line practices have been amazing for a couple of years now with the talent that we’ve had and the competitiveness of those kids,” Milano said.

Downingtown East and West aren’t identical in their offensive approaches, with the Whippets running a more complex offensive scheme. Milano’s diverse playbook forces linemen to learn different kinds of offenses and schemes and creates an environment for asking questions. Shelton got used to taking a technical approach to film during his time with the Whippets.

Since Milano took over the Downingtown West program in 2003, he has coached a variety of Division I players. Only a few of those players, however, have been at the offensive line position. Before Shelton, Young, and Howard, the Whippets’ most recent major offensive line recruit was current Arizona Cardinals guard/tackle Elijah Wilkinson. A six-year NFL veteran, Wilkinson played college football at UMass after graduating from Downingtown West in 2013.

“We’ve just been fortunate the last few years,” Milano said. “We’ve had some kids who weren’t only good football players, but we’re talking about some kids that are 6-5 and pushing 300 pounds with Drew, Cooper, Ryan. … Those kinds of kids were few and far between for a long time.

“When you have these kinds of kids, you can almost line up and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to run it here, and we’re going to be able to get it done’ because those kids are so good at what they do. So, from that end, it makes the play-caller’s job tremendously easier.”

The recruiting trend could continue as the Downingtown area continues to grow and as the two schools build on their strong academic and athletic reputations.

“The Downingtown [Area] School District itself is one of the top public school districts in the country, and I think that draws a lot of people in,” Clark said. “That’s definitely going to attract more people to the area, especially with how much growth the area has seen over the past decade.

“For athletes, Downingtown East and West both have historic athletic programs, and that’s going to draw a lot of people in also, especially that we have the resumé of sending a lot of people on to play at the next level.”