On Feb. 5, State High athlete Ty Salazer signed his commitment to play football at the University of Delaware. Salazer, a three-sport athlete, had previously received offers from Navy, Colgate, Dartmouth and Lehigh and a preferred walk-on offer from Penn State.
In Salazer, the Blue Hens are getting what State High Football Head Coach Matt Lintal called, “The most productive receiver in school history and it’s not even close.”
As a four-year starter, Salazer set plenty of State College school records. He is the all-time leader in career receiving yards, single-season receiving yards, single-game receiving yards and career receiving touchdowns. In 2024, Salazer led the state in receiving yards and set Pennsylvania records for single-season and single-game receiving yards and single-season receiving touchdowns.
“Ty is an unbelievable wide receiver,” Lintal said. “His comprehension of man coverage vs. zone and how to work in space and tight spaces and to be open even when you’re not supposed to be open, Ty’s a kid that can just feel those windows.”
While his skill on the football field earned him the title of 6A PA Football News Coaches Select Player of the Year, it also translates well to the basketball court.
“You can tell he’s a holistic athlete,” State High Boys Basketball Head Coach Brian Scholly said. “He has all the bits of athleticism you want from a player. You can just see that his lower half is different. His quickness, his shiftiness and the way he can get around guys whether it’s on the basketball court, the football field or the lacrosse field, it’s always translatable.”
Scholly also commended Salazer’s leadership qualities. “[Salazer is] a guy who’s grown up around sports his whole life, high-level sports, so he has a little bit more of an understanding than most do of just what it takes to be successful at a high level, so he leads first and foremost by example, and as he’s gotten older he’s developed more of a voice as a leader as well,” he said.
Salazer’s leadership and confidence are two traits that his coaches believe will translate to the next level. Lintal predicted, “He’ll be a captain [at Delaware] before it’s all said and done.”
State High Boys Lacrosse Head Coach Tyler Kaluza, who has coached Salazer every year since his days as a Park Forest Middle School basketball player, said, “His confidence [will translate to the next level]. In football, he’s dominating 6A programs, guys are playing defensive back who are going to D1 schools and who have a lot of offers, and Ty just completely destroys them. I think just having the confidence of playing 6A football in Pennsylvania in one of the best conferences in Pennsylvania is going to carry over for him.”
While Salazer’s impact was certainly felt in the athletic department, his State High legacy is primarily rooted in his impact off the field. He maintained a 4.5 GPA and in 2024 was named a USA Lacrosse Academic All-American. In his junior year, Salazer was a captain of the football, basketball and lacrosse teams and is now regarded as one of the best student-athletes in school history.
“He’s left a legacy of more than just a lot of wins, more than just a lot of yards, but the way to get there through consistency, through work ethic, through heart, through competition and through challenges,” Lintal said. “He has been such a role model for younger kids and such a role model for everybody in our program.”
Salazer hopes that he has been that positive role model throughout his time at State High. “I hope younger guys take a look and see me and put the work in to maybe try to get where I am,” he said. “I hope I leave a mark on the younger guys, the guys I’ve been around, and leave a positive effect that lasts a long time.”
To Kaluza, it’s clear that Salazer has succeeded. “The nominations rack up, but the better legacy is the people they are,” Kaluza said. “When you eventually have kids, you want your kids to be like Cooper and Ty. Their legacy is on the field, making us better competitors, but off the field making us better people as well.”
Kalua is referring to Salazer’s co-captain on the lacrosse and football teams, senior Cooper Brushwood, who recently announced his commitment to play football and lacrosse at Sacred Heart.
Now that Salazer is leaving State College behind, he is joining a Delaware football program that will play its first season at the FBS level in Conference USA next season. That jump was one of the reasons Salazer picked the Blue Hens.
“Delaware has the perfect balance of everything I’m looking for,” Salazer said. “They have a great campus, they’ve got great facilities, an amazing coaching staff, and I feel like I really fit. They play great football, moving up to the FBS level this year, and I feel like it’s a great fit for me.”
Salazer was aided in his decision-making process by his parents and Lintal. “I got to give a ton of credit to Coach Lintal, I was calling him every single day and he’d pick up any hour of the day, so I got to give him a ton of credit,” he said. “Obviously I got to credit my parents, they’ve helped me so much through this entire process as well as making the decision. They pointed me in the right direction but also gave me the freedom to make my own choice.”
The Blue Hens are getting the best of State High in Salazer, and Lintal is confident that he will succeed. “He truly is a no-brainer for any program, and I firmly believe that no matter where Ty chose in this process he was gonna find his way to be a star player and I believe he’ll be a captain before it’s all said and done,” Lintal said. “I think he will be taking care of business down there and representing State High extremely well.”
