Saint Vincent linebacker Wiley Purry continues to pile up tackles, takeaways
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Ask Saint Vincent senior linebacker Wiley Purry what he misses most about his native California, and the expected answers are given: his family and the beach.
But he admitted southwestern Pennsylvania has its perks, too.
“I love the atmosphere nature-wise. A whole bunch of trees,” he said. “It looks so beautiful. I love looking down and seeing all the trees and all the sunsets and everything.”
His opponents would have preferred he was still taking in the vistas along the West Coast.
Purry, who spent his first two seasons playing junior college ball at West Los Angeles College, burst onto the scene for the Bearcats last fall. He led the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and ranked 11th in Division III with 122 total tackles. He also had a pair of interceptions on his way to all-conference honorable mention honors.
He has picked up right where he left off. Through Saint Vincent’s first three games, Purry had 31 total tackles and two more interceptions plus a fumble recovery. One of those interceptions came against reigning PAC champion Grove City on Sept. 21.
“The key is not to read the quarterback,” Purry (5-foot-11, 240 pounds) said about his penchant for interceptions. “It’s to read the wide receivers, know their routes, watch film and really learn what type of routes they like, how they run their routes or what are the little habits they have for running this route and that route.”
The first “route” that concerned Purry was the one that got him from shores of Long Beach to the hills of Unity Township. That journey started because of a connection between Purry’s youth coach, Albert Roux, and Saint Vincent president Father Paul Taylor, OSB, Ph.D.
As Taylor recounted in an email to TribLive, he got to know Roux as the coach made frequent visits to Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. Roux, Taylor said, was impressed by the campus and its community and started recommending Saint Vincent to his players and continues to do so.
Purry was among those Roux encouraged to look at Saint Vincent. After visiting, Purry was hooked and called his choice to enroll “the best decision I ever made.”
“Right off the bat, his personality, he gets along with anybody, talks to everyone on campus, gets involved with everything, works a job and an internship,” Saint Vincent coach Aaron Smetanka said. “He has the same energy and attitude in every single setting he’s in.”
Added Taylor: “He is a diligent student and an excellent football player. He makes a difference on our campus.”
The biggest difference he hopes to make is on the football field. Saint Vincent was 1-2 entering this past weekend’s game against Waynesburg after lopsided losses to PAC heavyweights W&J and Grove City and a win over Allegheny.
Purry had 10 total tackles and an interception — one of four turnovers the Bearcats generated — against the Gators in Week 2. He followed that with 10 more total tackles and another interception against Grove City, but it wasn’t nearly enough to slow down the Wolverines’ potent offense.
While the Bearcats defense as a whole has had its ups and downs, Purry, Smetanka said, has remained a rock of consistency.
“You have guys sometimes who are doing things in practice, but are you doing the same things in the game?” Smetanka said. “Are you able to back everything up? He’s a guy that’s consistently been that way.
“… He does a good job getting guys’ hands down, getting himself free and making plays at that second level. The ball seems like a magnet to him. He always seems to be around the ball no matter what’s going on.”
One stat Purry hasn’t registered is a sack. He didn’t have one last year and didn’t have one through Saint Vincent’s first three games of 2024. But rushing the quarterback, Smetanka said, is something Purry is asked to do only rarely.
While the Bearcats had only four sacks through the first three games, Smetanka said he hasn’t been tempted to move Purry to defensive line or rush end to try to utilize his skills in blitz packages. Not that he thinks Purry couldn’t deliver. Smetanka, in fact, said he believes Purry could play any number of positions — even H-back or tight end — and still be successful.
Purry seems to be at his best when making plays at the second level, and it’s an area he has no desire to vacate.
“I just love playing the position because we get to hit anybody we see,” he said. “There’s no thinking. It’s all about reaction. Go hit somebody and run to the ball.”
At his current rate, Purry is on pace to approach his total tackle number from last season, and he already has equaled his interception total from 2023. Smetanka said he thought Purry was a bit under the radar — if not underappreciated — last season.
The “honorable mention” designation, Smetanka said, might have been a bit of a slight to Purry’s abilities.
Purry, though, isn’t concerned about personal accolades. What he wants is more results like the 41-20 win over Allegheny and fewer like the losses to W&J and Grove City.
“What really bothered me (about last year) is my team went 3-7,” he said. “I need to do better for my team, and we need to win more games. That’s all that really matters is win more games and make sure my team is happy.
“I don’t need individual recognition. It’s all about what my team deserves, and my team deserves a winning season.”