Linebacker George Truitt aims to keep Northeast High at the top of the heap

If doubters thought the cupboard was bare at Northeast High School, senior linebacker George Truitt wants to set the record straight.

“We’re still trying to put the city on notice,” the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder said in a telephone interview. “A lot of people had us going 0-and-forever. Having a winning record with a new coaching staff and a whole new team, we’re letting everybody know that we’re not [terrible] like everyone thought we would be.”

In spite of those trying to end the Vikings’ seven-year reign as Public League champions (there was no champion in 2020 because of COVID-19), Truitt has helped first-year coach Ryan Nase’s team get off to a good start.

Northeast (4-1, 1-0 Public League Independence) has wins against Catholic League foes West Catholic and Archbishop Wood and has yet to allow a point against Pub opponents (52-0 combined score against Southern and Simon Gratz).

To Truitt, that’s not too shabby for a team that graduated more than a dozen seniors, including standout lineman Naquil Betrand, who, according to reports, recently enrolled at Texas A&M, where he signed last year.

The Vikings also lost safety Kahmir Prescott, who was named league MVP as a junior.

Prescott, who has committed to Wisconsin, transferred to Neumann Goretti, where he joined forces with fellow defensive back Khari Reid, who is committed to Stanford.

Truitt knows that the Vikings lost talent. In fact, it has become his motivation.

“Mainly because I just want to prove everybody wrong,” he said. “I feel like we have the best coaching staff in the city, and I just feel like we’re proving everybody wrong.”

Northeast has won the last six Pub championships in its classification, dating back to its Class 4A days, while coached by Phil Gormley (five titles), who was followed by Eric Clark, who stepped down after last season.

During that span, the program also produced various Division I, II, and III talents, including Jaquan Amos, who began his career at Villanova and finished at Ball State, and Elijah Jeudy, who is now at Nebraska.

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Currently, Truitt is the only Viking with a Division I offer (FCS Merrimack College), but Nase says more colleges should be interested.

Truitt’s size and strength combined with his speed and ability to cover receivers downfield are what makes him so valuable, says Nase, who previously coached at Cheltenham.

Off the field, in the weight room and in the classroom, Nase wishes he had a few clones.

“We need more kids like him who are quiet and kind of just go about their business, get good grades, work hard in the weight room, and then ball out on the field,” Nase said.

Truitt, 18, isn’t too quiet, though. He has grown into a leader after transferring from Neumann Goretti as a junior. He learned about leadership from his father, George Sr., who was an all-Pub linebacker at Washington (1999) before playing at Cheyney University.

Now that the Vikings rely on inexperienced players, Truitt says he encourages questions because, as an underclassman, he was once reluctant to ask them.

“Sometimes you feel scared because you don’t want to sound dumb,” he said. “But that’s why I stress speaking up, so you don’t go out there and look dumb because you didn’t ask.”

In general, Truitt seems to be a good source for answers. After all, he carries a 3.7 GPA in mostly honors and advanced placement courses, Nase said. He also seems to possess maturity beyond his years.

His internship includes weekly visits to the Mütter Museum of medical history. Truitt says he is intrigued by a career in medicine but isn’t yet sure what path he’d take.

He might be partial to physical therapy since a few clinicians have helped him with injuries along the way. For now, he has one eye on football and another on his future.

“Football doesn’t last forever,” he said. “It is just a small percentage of our lives. I want to go to college, have fun, and also study something that I’m interested in, so I can hopefully use that to make money for the rest of my life.”