Since his first season, Messiah Mickens has been among the top football players in the state.
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He is, nevertheless, the best by at least one metric at the end of his junior year.
The Penn State recruit helped Harrisburg capture a fourth consecutive District 3 championship and make it to the PIAA 6A semifinals, while Gatorade named the Harrisburg running back and linebacker the 2024 Pennsylvania football player of the year.
With Bishop McDevitt’s Rico Scott, who is currently at Alabama, winning last year, McDevitt quarterback Stone Saunders winning in 2022, Governor Mifflin and current Penn State standout Nick Singleton winning in 2021, and St. Joe’s Prep/Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord winning in 2020, Mickens joins a long list of former Pennsylvania champions.
In addition to his 235 receiving yards and two scores, the 5-foot-11, 205-pound junior ran for 1214 yards and 21 touchdowns this season. He also showed himself to be a formidable pass rusher, recording 16.5 sacks, 39 tackles-for-loss, and 81 total tackles in his debut season at Harrisburg.
After graduating in 2026, Mickens has committed to play for Penn State. On Rivals.com, he is rated as a 4-star prospect and the 110th best player in the class.
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