June 26, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., - Former Penn State All-American Brandon Short was among the inductees into the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Hall of Fame on Friday.
A standout at McKeesport Area High School, Short was among the 17 honorees at the sold out event at the Embassy Suites in Coraopolis. Eight athletes, three coaches, two officials, two individuals and two teams were recognized.
Short led McKeesport to its first WPIAL and PIAA Class AAAA state championships as a senior in 1994. He also was a starter on McKeesport's WPIAL championship basketball team.
A four-year starter for the Nittany Lions, Short was selected a first team All-American in 1999 by the Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America and Walter Camp Football Foundation. One of three finalists for the 1999 Butkus Award, Short and teammate LaVar Arrington, another former WPIAL standout, were the first teammates to be finalists for the Butkus, which Arrington won. A 1999 co-captain, Short was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree, Short's 51 career tackles for loss remain No 2 in the Penn State records book and he made 273 career tackles.
The New York Giants selected Short in the 2000 NFL Draft and he played five years with the Giants and two years with the Carolina Panthers. Short recently earned his MBA from Columbia University and has accepted a position with Goldman Sachs.
Former Nittany Lion standout and current Gateway High School football coach Terry Smith was in attendance at the banquet, as the 1986 Gateway team Smith played on was recognized for its 13-0 season.
Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley and Associate AD Fran Ganter represented the current Penn State Football staff at the banquet, along with Don Ferrell, former Nittany Lion Football academic advisor.
Also honored with the Courage Award by the WPIAL was Jimmy Montecalvo (Washington HS), who passed away from cancer in 2008. He was the son of Guy Montecalvo, a Penn State graduate who was a highly-successful high school coach in Washington (Pa.) County for 30 years.