National Signing Day 2017: Local Recap

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) —D'Andre Swift has mastered the art of the noise block. The standout St. Joseph's Prep running back and 2016 CBS Philly Player of the Year knew the fake news swirling around him as National Signing Day approached. There were things floating out there in the twitterverse that he might reconsider and change his oral commitment from Georgia to someone else.

Related: CBS Philly's High School Football Player Of The Year: SJ Prep's D'Andre Swift

But at 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, one of the nation's best high school football players made it official on National Signing Day that he was standing by his word and signed a national letter of intent to attend Georgia on a full scholarship in the fall.

2017 National Signing Day: Live Blog

In 2016, Swift won his third state championship in four years of high school football, when the Prep smashed Pittsburgh Central Catholic 42-7 to win the first PIAA 6A state championship under the new classification system. In his last three high school games, he rushed for 724 yards and nine touchdowns, which averages out to 241 yards rushing and three TDs per game. In three state championship games, he carried a combined 56 times for 434 yards and eight touchdowns, which breaks down to 7.7 yards per carry and 2.6 touchdowns in each state final.

Related: CBS Philly's 2016 High School Team Of The Year: St. Joseph's Prep

"Dre is the best player I ever coached," Prep coach Gabe Infante said. "You knew he was going to come through, no matter who we played or what defense we had lined up against us. He ran for 266 against a really good North Penn team, which I think we know now was probably the second-best team in the state. We were going to be good this year, and we knew we had No. 7 (Swift)."

As for Swift, he's pleased the recruiting journey is over.

"Committing early before the season was important, because it allowed me to concentrate just on football," Swift said. "I'm good with everything. It was good to get it over with, considering everything I went through, now I can begin the next chapter in my life."

Here's a listing of local high school players that have committed to major FBS and local schools (Penn State 1, Penn 1, Villanova 4, Rutgers 5, Temple 6):

D'Andre Swift, St. Joseph's Prep - RB Georgia
Jaquan Amos, Northeast - DB Villanova
Markquese Bell, Bridgeton - DB Maryland
Kenneth Bennett, Palumbo - DB Maryland
Amin Black, Imhotep Charter - LB Villanova
Tony Brown, Timber Creek - TE Navy
Owens Bowles, Cedar Creek - OL/DL Rutgers
Harrison Hand, Cherry Hill West - DB Baylor
John Harrar, Strath Haven - TE Army
Lorenzo Hernandez, Cherry Hill W. - DL Villanova
Desmond Holmes, Cardinal O'Hara - OL Penn State
Audley Isaacs, Valley Forge - LB Temple
Jeremy Jennings, Downingtown East - DB Temple
Chris Jimenez, Perkiomen Valley - OL Temple
Ricky Johns, North Penn - DB W. Virginia
Naijee Jones, Timber Creek - DB Rutgers
Edwin Lopez, Woodrow Wilson - DB Rutgers
John Lovett, Cherokee - RB/DB Baylor
Jelani McCargo, Woodrow Wilson - RB/LB Navy
Kyle McCloskey, Germantown Ac. - QB Villanova
Pat McGettigan, Germantown Ac. - LB Penn
Bo Melton, Cedar Creek - WR Rutgers
Emil Moody, Neumann-Goretti - TE Temple
George Reid, Abington - DB Temple
Rob Saulin, Pennsville - TE/DE Baylor
Jon Taylor, Salem - RB Wisconsin
Collin Washington, Central - WR Temple
Isaiah Watson, Cedar Creek - LB Army
Mark Webb, Archbishop Wood - WR Georgia
Everett Wormley, Burlington Twp. - WR Rutgers