Penn State commit follows Nittany Lions legends with WPIAL POY award

It may have been early National Signing Day for the class of 2024 yesterday, but there’s still news to be made in the 2025 cycle. Penn State football has a budding 2025 class, but one recruit just put himself among Nittany Lions royalty. This week, Penn State commit Tiqwai Hayes joined a long list of Nittany Lion legends to be honored as the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Player of the Year.

2025 Penn State commit honored as WPIAL Player of the Year

Tiqwai Hayes became the fourth member of the 2025 class when he committed to Penn State football over Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and others on September 25. The three-star prospect had already made a name for himself as a dynamic rusher, gaining over 2,000 as a sophomore at Aliquippa High School in 2022.

Hayes proved himself once again on the field this fall. This week, the Penn State commit was named the WPIAL Player of the Year by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, as well as several other media outlets. Hayes rushed for 2,129 yards and 26 touchdowns during Aliquippa’s PIAA Class 4A state championship-winning season. The junior’s 5,886 yards are now the 10th most in WPIAL history. 

“Having that edge to be great is a special thing that can’t be taught,” Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield told the Post-Gazette. “When the stakes are highest, that’s when he performs his best.”

“There are thousands of kids in the WPIAL who put on a show every Friday night, so I feel like this is a big honor,” Hayes said.

Tiqwai Hayes joins select group of Nittany Lion legends with honor

To say that Tiqwai Hayes joins an elite group of WPIAL Player of the Year award winners is an understatement. Ten previous award winners have gone on to play in the NFL. 

Hayes also joins a select group of Penn State football legends to win the award. The Penn State commit joins Brandon Short (1994), LaVar Arrington (1997), and Paul Posluszny (2002) as former Nittany Lions to be selected as the WPIAL Player of the Year. 

With one more year of high school football left to play, Hayes can become the fourth two-time honoree in the award’s 29-year history. 

Penn State football currently has the No. 12 overall class in the country for 2025, according to On3. With six commitments, the Nittany Lions class is good enough for the 4th best class in the Big Ten.

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