Six Hopewell Football Players Receive GameDay Invites to Pitt vs. Syracuse

The business of high school recruiting is an everchanging industry.

In years past, college programs didn’t really start the long process of recruiting an athlete until the competition of their sophomore year but that’s no longer the case.

Recruiting is a relationship business, and schools now are looking to start to build relationships as soon as possible.

GameDay visits are just one aspect of recruiting and with college football in full swing, every home game teams try to invite players to attend on a GameDay visit.

These aren’t as serious as official or unofficial visits, where recruits get to visit the teams’ facilities and campus but they’re still important because it’s a small sign that teams are aware of you and your possibly on their future radar.

From an athlete’s perspective, this is an opportunity for them to experience what getting recruited is like, it allows them to start try to form a relationship with a member of that program’s staff and more importantly, it should serve as motivation to keep working and trying to get better so that one day, they might be fortunate enough to earn a college scholarship from some program.

The No. 19 ranked Pitt Panthers are back in action tomorrow night as they host Syracuse at Acrisure Stadium and a handful of Hopewell Vikings have received GameDay invites to attend that game.

Hopewell junior tight end/defensive end Jake Pollick, junior kicker Rocco Marcantonio, freshman wide receiver/cornerback Tre Cameron, freshman safety/wide receiver Avery Bokor, freshman running back Brody Rock and freshman quarterback James Armstrong will be in attendance for that big game.

Pollick is an intriguing prospect for the future as he’s 6’4″, 225-pounds and is still relatively new to the game of football. Pollick is a tremendous athlete and a standout volleyball player. Considering his size, athleticism and progress he made throughout this season, Pollick definitely has a bright future.

Marcantonio is someone that HSN has been telling you about since Vikings training camp and he’s delivered this season for the Vikings. Rocco has a huge leg and has been a weapon for Coach Mottes considering his ability to kick a field goal when you get inside the opponents 40-yard line.

This season, Rocco has made 9 of 13 field goal attempts, with the long coming from 55 yards.

Marcantonio has a D-1 leg and it will be interesting to see which team is the first to pull the trigger with an offer.

Marcantonio will be visiting Pitt this Thursday, along with their game next month against Clemson. Pitt isn’t the only Power Four team interested as HSN has learned that Rocco has received a GameDay visit from Penn State to attend their huge game against Ohio State on November 2nd.

As far as the four freshmen, they still have a ways to go in their development and recruitment but no doubt the potential is there.

Cameron has the look and skill set of a possible D-1 player with his 5′ 10″ frame. Keep in mind that he’s only 14-years old and has three more years to grow.

“I’m very excited to being going to Pitt for the game on Thursday,” Cameron tells HSN. “I’ve seen that they’ve been very successful this season so being able to see them in person is going to be really cool and a really fun experience. Getting invited is showing me that the work I have put in as a freshman is getting noticed. I’m looking forward to making more visits to Pitt and other schools so that I can see what real D-1 talent looks like in person in order to see what I need to work towards.”

I will at pitt for the first time this Thursday for the Pitt Syracuse game@cjlquips @CoachDuzzPittFB @PghSportsNow @HopewellVikesFB @Pitt_FB pic.twitter.com/YgmxqbK8Cy

— Tre cameron (@Trecameron14) October 23, 2024

“My first year as a high school starter has been really fun, working my way up the depth chart.  I feel like I have showed potential for my next 4 years. Things have definitely been challenging getting used to the speed of thing and how physically big players are.”

Bokor is similar to Cameron and likely just needs to see his body develop because all of these kids are going to put in the work to get better.

Bokor was thrown into the fire this season as he moved into the starting safety role following the season-ending injury to junior Kingston Krotec, who was projected to be the starter.

Bokor continues to improve and will no doubt spend the off-season working to get bigger, stronger and faster. On the season, Avery has collected 35 tackles and pulled down 2 interceptions.

“It is a dream come true for me (to get a Pitt GameDay invite). I have always been a big Pitt fan,” Bokor tells HSN. “My dad is a former Pitt Panther, so it is in my blood. He always speaks so highly of Pitt and how much he learned during his time there. I hope to be able to follow in his footsteps in a few years.

“I am really excited. I love the game of football and to be invited to come and watch my favorite team play live is incredible. Also, to be recognized for my hard work and dedication to the sport is special to me. It makes me want to do more!”

Being so young and put into high-leverage situations this season, HSN asked Bokor what he’s learned this season.

“I have learned so much from my coaches and teammates,” said Bokor. “They showed a lot of trust and faith in me by naming me a starter in the first week of the season. I need to put some weight on in the offseason because taking the type of hits you have to take as a strong safety has beaten my body up a little bit. This season has been challenging and we knew it would be because we are rebuilding, and we are young. We have endured some tough losses, but we have celebrated some big victories as well. I am looking forward to helping my teammates and coaches make the playoffs for the first time in over a decade on Friday night!

Haven’t posted my stats yet this year. A few clips from tonight’s game vs Freeport, 35-25. Puts us at 4-4 this year.
7 tackles
1 int https://t.co/b2uTOdtWFy

— Avery Bokor (@AveryBokor2) October 12, 2024

Rock and Armstrong were no doubt the most physically ready to step in to the rigors of playing and starting on a varsity football team.

Rock has been the workhorse of the Vikings offense, carrying the ball 138 times for 630 yards and 4 touchdowns. Brody also has a great set of hands, as we’ve witnessed over the past few weeks. For the season, Rock has 24 receptions for 331 yards and 4 receiving touchdowns. Depending on his growth, tight end could be a future position for Rock.  On defense at the linebackers’ spot, Brody has registered 20 tackles, 1 sack and 3 fumble recoveries.

Rock’s durability and physicality have been huge for Hopewell, and he’ll be a focal point of the team for the next three seasons.

Hopewell Freshman Quarterback James Armstrong Making GameDay Visit to Pitt