Trinity head coach Jordan Hill breaks down newest Penn State commit Messiah Mickens

When former Penn State defensive lineman Jordan Hill was announced as the new head coach at Trinity High School in Feb. 2021, it was only a matter of time until the area’s top talent started gravitating towards the Camp Hill, Pa., private school. A former Super Bowl champion, Hill is not only respected for his success on the field but also for how he carries himself around the community. If you’re a parent, he’s exactly the kind of person you want teaching your son the game.

Fast-forward to now and success has come even quicker than most expected. Entering his third season, Hill guided Trinity to a District III championship just last year, advancing to the PIAA AA semifinals before running into powerhouse Southern Columbia. That’s impressive for a program that last had a winning record in 2012.

Hill’s credentials were also a major reason why one of the region’s top up-and-coming players, Messiah Mickens, elected to attend Trinity last season over his local public school. As a freshman, he had a massive impact on the Shamrocks, rushing for 961 yards and 18 touchdowns. Add in his contributions on defense and it was enough for schools all across the country to start offering after just one season.

Fitz: Penn State regulars who have impressed at preseason camp

Now holding 18 scholarship offers from many of the nation’s best programs – Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee and Texas A&M, to name a few – Mickens made news Saturday night, electing to make an early commitment to Penn State. Despite having three years of high school ball still ahead of him, the 2026 prospect and his family made it clear to James Franklin and his staff that they had no reason to drag this out.

Hill is a major reason why.

“[Friday] night was the first time we really talked about all of this,” Hill said. “It was one of those situations where I wasn’t really thinking about the kid committing this early. During our talk, one of the biggest compliments I’ve ever received came from Messiah and his dad. They basically explained that their reasoning for wanting to go to Penn State is because of their time around me and [Michael] Mauti.

“His dad basically said that if he can have his son turn out similar to us, especially after learning how much Penn State had an effect on us, he wants his son to be part of that.”

Listed at 5-foot-10, 195 pounds, how Mickens grows over the next three years will now be something to watch for Penn State fans.

Recruiting: Another 2025 recruit locks in visit date to PSU

“It’s cliche, but he just knows how to run the football,” Hill said. “His vision for his age is some of the best I’ve seen. He’s consistently able to set up what he’s about to do next and really read the field. To me, it’s already college-level. It’s impressive. He’s also a bigger back for as young as he is and he still ran a 4.51 at Penn State this summer.”

Hill went on to add, “He’s just a natural football player. It’s unbelievable at his age. But one thing I really love that he brings to this football team and this community is his competitiveness. That’s one of our core beliefs. We’re all about competition and he is the optimity of that each and everyday.”

With Mickens only being a sophomore, his recruitment ended before schools could even contact him directly. However, they were allowed to contact Hill, who pointed to three schools that he felt were very serious about Mickens.

“Ohio State and Tennessee definitely stand out,” Hill said. “They’ve been very direct and honest with me in their interest. We went out to Ohio State and that was a good visit for him. I would say Michigan is in there as well. That was another school we visited. They sent their area recruiter [Grant Newsome] out here, as well as Mike Hart this year. All three of those schools were serious about Messiah.”

The post Trinity head coach Jordan Hill breaks down newest Penn State commit Messiah Mickens appeared first on On3.