Logan Anthony was among the first volunteers when the time came this summer to work at a youth camp.

The Palmerton senior lineman and Rutgers commit could have listed any number of excuses rather than subject himself to that craziness.

“He went there and had a bunch of 4- and 5-year-olds hanging on his legs and loved it,” Blue Bombers coach Chris Walkowiak said.

That is Anthony, the contrast to his appearance. At 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, the four-year starter is the anti-mean. Sure, he enjoys a pancake block as much as any player. But he gets pure joy out of having fun with the friends he’s grown up with. And he loves doing anything for them.

“He’s been well raised and is a pleasure to be around,” Walkowiak said. “On the field, he’s an extra coach. He just gets it. He talks at an adult level. He’s playing at a high level. But he will help anybody out, blend in with anybody.”

Anthony started playing football at age 4 and loved it. He also relished playing his first two years of high school with brother Zack, who had a knack of making him better. Anthony also just loved being with his brother.

“It is such a blessing to play with family members,” Anthony said. “To get to see him on the other side of the ball [in practice], it was a cool feeling not many get to have. I always wanted to beat him, be better. He challenged me to get better.”

Anthony became so good that he was on Division I college football coaches’ radar as a sophomore. Things were crazy last spring when he made 21 campus visits that included several 2 a.m. car rides.

But all that excitement of being wooed wore off quickly. The senior knew what he wanted for the next four years. He found it at Rutgers.

“I wanted to be a little closer to home so my family could come watch me play,” Anthony said. “Academics was my No.1 thing. I’ve always been big on school. I’m grateful that my parents always are on me about my grades. Not everybody has that. I’m blessed.

“I want to be a physical therapist and football-wise I wanted to play at a bigger school. I loved the city there, too.”

While Anthony loved football since kindergarten, becoming a dominant lineman did not happen overnight. Even though he was always big for his age, he was not born a stellar lineman.

Like everyone else, the Palmerton senior had to commit a lot of time, sweat and his parents’ money in order to develop all the skills required to play on the line at the highest collegiate level.

He went to many camps, fell in love with weight lifting and still does a lot of speed and agility work.

“I feel like I used to be a lot slower,” he said. “The combination of losing 30 pounds [recently] and still doing the footwork, I feel like I’m much faster and better than I used to be.”

Anthony is finding out what weight he is at his best at on the field. He’s tinkering with adding five pounds to see if affects his foot speed and athleticism.

The on-field product continues to improve.

“It’s great to just watch him grow,” Walkowiak said. “His foot speed, it’s impressive how well he moves for how big he is. People started to see that. He worked really hard to transform his body into what the next level wanted to see. Seeing him move, it’s a no brainer.

“He’s going to do really big things in a short amount of time at Rutgers.”

What has never wavered, however, is Anthony’s commitment to the team and academics. He was not thrilled with the class time he missed while visiting the college campuses, but he’s excited to get started on the next chapter. He will enroll early at Rutgers in the spring semester of 2026.

There are no guarantees how Anthony’s skill set will translate to the college game, but what is certain is that he will be a maximum effort guy who will be a welcome addition to any team.

“He’s a total team player,” Walkowiak added. “It’s never been about him. He always gives credit to someone else. He thoroughly enjoys making that block for someone else to score. He’s genuinely excited for that person.

“He knows what he does. He’s not naive to that. But he’s what you want in a team player. He’s a great mentor to younger linemen in the program. His parents did an awesome job.”

Colonial-Schuylkill League football Week 2 picks

Lehighton (0-1) at Bangor (0-1): The Indians had a slow start to the second half that cost them against Northern Lehigh. The Slaters had a slow start to the first half that was detrimental against Saucon Valley. Fewer mistakes win most football games. Lehighton 27-21

Northwestern Lehigh (1-0) at Northern Lehigh (1-0): The Tigers starters only played a half in last week’s season opener and about the same in their previous two Mountain Road Rumble meetings with the Bulldogs (a combined 104-7 score). It is going to take than two quarters on Thursday night. Northwestern Lehigh 26-14

Blue Mountain (0-1) at Southern Lehigh (1-0): The Spartans pulled away for their Week 1 win over neighbor Quakertown. The Eagles lost in the final seconds of their opener to rival Schuylkill Haven. The Spartans played poorly in last year’s meeting at the Eagle’s Nest. They have not forgotten. Southern Lehigh 34-20

Pottsville (0-1) at Jim Thorpe (1-0): Mistakes cost the Crimson Tide in their opener against Shamokin. The Olympians took advantage of Palmerton mistakes last Saturday to overcome a late first-half deficit. They’ll need to force more turnovers to get a similar result. Pottsville 22-21

Tamaqua (0-1) at North Schuylkill (1-0): The Spartans have a district title-caliber team. The Blue Raiders have a lot of inexperience. North Schuylkill 35-7

Palisades (0-1) at Saucon Valley (1-0): The Panthers have several contributors who aren’t old enough to drive but able to be counted for the team’s success. The Pirates have a group of seniors who want to reverse last year’s several misfortunes and 11 losses in the last 13 series meetings. This will be a good one. Saucon Valley 22-14

Wilson (0-1) at Catasauqua (1-0): The Warriors are better. The Rough Riders are better. Coach Joe Henrich has more proven athletes at his disposal. Catasauqua 27-7

Notre Dame-GP (1-0) at Salisbury (1-0): There was one game last season when the Falcons felt they didn’t compete for four quarters. It was against the Crusaders, who have many weapons back from a year ago. Measuring stick game for coach Kevin DiZenzo’s club. Notre Dame-GP 41-20

Tri-Valley (1-0) at Marian Catholic (1-0): The Bulldogs have won six of the last seven meetings, including the previous two by shutout. They racked up 231 rushing yards in their opening victory. The Colts got 226 from Rory Dixon. The Bulldogs will do all they can to force the Colts into making someone else step up. Tri-Valley 21-14

Schuylkill Haven (1-0) at Panther Valley (0-1): The Panthers’ offense showed signs last week but struggled to score points. The Hurricanes have no such problem. Schuylkill Haven 42-13

Palmerton (0-1) at Pen Argyl (1-0): The Green Knights won last week’s opener thanks to their defense. They will need to generate more than one offensive touchdown to move to 2-0 and win consecutive games for the first time since the first two games of 2023. The Blue Bombers, who have won six of the last eight meetings in this series, stopped themselves in last week’s opener. Pen Argyl 14-12

Last week/season: 9-1

Senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com

https://www.mcall.com/2025/08/28/palmertons-logan-anthony-wants-it-all-now-and-at-rutgers/