Now that we are in the offseason, this is a time where a lot of high school football prospects from around the country start to talk more with colleges as they see an uptick in their recruitments. Other may not be so luck as recruits tend to fly under the radar from time to time.
With that being said, we here at Nittany Nation have decided to team up with WPIAL Today's Jonathan Magusiak as he will choose one high school football recruit to profile in order to help get that prospect a little bit more exposure on the recruiting trail!
Today, we take a look at 2025 linebacker / safety Austin Kerns.
Bench Max: 275 Lbs
Squat: 455 Lbs
Dead Max: 425 Lbs
3 Lift: 1,155 Lbs
Power Clean: 205 Lbs
Team Base Defense: 3-4
2022 FULL GAME STATS....
Week 1 vs Latrobe: 10 Solo Tackles – 17 Total Tackles – 1 Pass Deflection *Broke hand in 1st quarter. **Finished the 2OT game.
Week 2 vs Connellsville: DNP (Broken Hand)
*Week 3 vs Gateway: 2 Solo Tackles – 7 Total Tackles – 1 Pass Deflection
*Week 4 vs Shaler: 4 Solo Tackles – 9 Total Tackles – 1 QB Hurry
*Week 5 vs Norwin: 9 Solo Tackles – 11 Total – 1 FF
*Week 6 vs Hempfield: 6 Solo Tackles – 18 Total Tackles
Week 7 vs North Hills: 4 Solo Tackles – 2 Sacks
Week 8 vs Penn-Trafford: 3 Solo Tackles – 5 Total – 2 Pass Deflections
WPIAL Playoffs vs Woodland Hills: 2 Solo Tackles – 4 Total Tackles
*Games played in a cast (Broken Hand)
PLAYER BREAKDOWN....
Austin Kerns is one of the best linebackers in the 2025 WPIAL football class. He started for Franklin Regional playing in an extremely talented 5A WPIAL Big East conference. The team went 6-4 (4-1) this past season winning a section title. He is an extremely physical player who enjoys contact. He is one of the better tacklers in his class. In the open field he very rarely misses a tackle. He is all over the field making plays the entire game. His great football instincts lead him to the ball very quickly. He considers himself a hybrid as he is versatile and can line up in many different positions on defense. He loves to watch film so he is constantly improving himself in the mental aspect of the game as well as physical. He is a guy that lives in the gym as he has told me, he has been working extremely hard this off-season to improve for the 2023 football season. He is watching tons of film this off-season trying to improve his game constantly.
If you watch his film it is full of big hits and tackles. He flies around and plays the game freely, you can tell he isn’t afraid of the moment. I think it’s fair to say he is the anchor of the Franklin Regional defense as he led the team in tackles this past season as only a sophomore. His toughness was tested early in the season, in the first quarter in his week 1 game, he broke his hand and still finished the game that had a double overtime ending. He had to sit out week two but he came back for week three playing in a cast in the next four games. I think it’s fair to say Austin has the toughness to play linebacker at the next level. His junior season is going to be even bigger and better as he is putting in the work to improve himself as a football player day in and day out.
GETTING TO KNOW AUSTIN KERNS....
How old are you? 16 y/o
When did you start playing football? 1st Grade.
Favorite Teammate ever? I love all my brothers.
Favorite Coach Ever? All of my coaches are like a second parent, so all of them!
Favorite thing about football? Teaches great life lessons and I also enjoy the contact.
Dream College? Penn State/Pitt
Most tackles you have ever had in one game? 18 tackles last season – 22 tackles in a middle school game.
What NFL player would you say your game resembles the most? Fred Warner
Who is role model? My Dad
Goals for 2023? Football Goals: Win a WPIAL Title – Life Goals: Straight As and Better Myself.
Favorite NFL player? Fred Warner
Top 5 greatest NFL players of all-time? Joe Greene, Jerry Rice, Ed Reed, Tony Gonzalez and Tom Brady
Favorite MLB Team? Yankees
Favorite NFL Team? Steelers
Top 3 football songs? Dreams and Nightmares, Elm Street, and First Day Out
Favorite Movie? Greater
Favorite Food? Bacon
Favorite hobby outside of Football? Building Things
Career Goals: Engineer
FINAL TAKE.....
Listen up college coaches and recruiters if you need an experienced and talented linebacker look no further as Austin Kerns started and produced on the 5A level as just a sophomore this past season. You understand why he started as a sophomore after watching the first 3 plays on his film. He plays years above the age of 16. He anchors the defense and is already the leading tackler on his team. I fully expect an even bigger junior season as he now has a full season as a starting linebacker of 5A football experience under his belt. This is one player from the WPIAL who should be on everyone’s radar and if he isn’t, this should be everyone’s wake up call around the WPIAL that Austin Kerns can play some ball.
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