Word spread quickly in the college football world after rising La Salle High senior Chris Fileppo verbally committed to play at James Madison University.

"Chris was a little bit of a late bloomer to the whole recruiting process," said new La Salle High head coach Brett Gordon, who starred for the Explorers at quarterback in the late 1990s and later at Villanova University.

"Once the offers started coming in for him in the early spring time frame they were for Division I-AA level. Then James Madison (a Division I-A program) came along, and he committed to them.

"We talked about it and told him that didn't mean that the recruiting would stop and that it might intensify and that's what happened. (Division I-A programs) South Florida, Purdue and West Virginia then offered him, and he did his due diligence researching the offers and changed his mind."

Trip to West Virginia swayed La Salle High standout

And, after a visit to Morgantown, West Virginia in late June, Fileppo committed to the Mountaineers.

"I really liked the coaches and the campus and had the chance to talk with some of the players and they all had really good things to say about the coaching staff and the program," Fileppo said.

"I was solid to JMU, but my coaches told me to hear everyone out and I'm glad I did."

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Doylestown resident will likely play in the defensive secondary for West Virginia after a senior season at outside linebacker for the Explorers.

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"We want to have him closer to the line of scrimmage," Gordon said. "Chris has the ability to impact games in a lot of ways with his size, speed, instincts and ball skills.

"And we'll also utilize him on offense and get him involved in a tight end/wingback role. It would be negligence on our part if we didn't have him play some offense because he's such a good athlete."

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Speed is key for La Salle High's Fileppo

A three-star recruit according to most of the ratings services, Fileppo had 62 tackles last season along with a pair of forced fumbles. He also ran track in the spring with a best of 10.9 seconds in the 100 meters.

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"Speed is a big part of my game and running the sprints in track (100 and 200 meters and 4 x 100 relay) helps get me ready for football," Fileppo said.

"My senior season is coming up and we're all working as hard as we can to make it a really good one and that we're ready to go."

Drew Markol covers local sports for PhillyBurbs.com. Support our journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: La Salle's Chris Fileppo, of Doylestown, makes college football call