By Rich Chrampanis
|Every Signing Day ceremony follows the same formula. The school logo is draped over a desk with a pen and scholarship papers front and center. An athlete sits down, signs the document and poses for pictures with family and coaches.
The path to putting the ink on paper and securing a future both academically and athletically in college is unique for every single athlete. For RBC standouts Eddie Hahn and Liam Smith, they gave a verbal commitment to UConn and Duke over the summer. Yet when they finally made it official, there was still a thrill knowing that their choice has really been made.
“It was a great moment,” Smith said moments after signing his letter. “It was one of those things where you know it’s going to come, but you don’t really expect it to come until it happens and you sign that letter and make it official.”
On the flip side, Saint John Vianney wide receiver Marcque Ellington went back and forth with his decision. At first he gave a verbal pledge to play in Staten Island for the Wagner Seahawks, but one night before Signing Day, he switched to Norfolk State in Virginia and made it binding on Wednesday morning.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t like Wagner,” Ellington said. “When I just went to my visit to Norfolk State, it was just a good fit for me. It felt like home.”
The first Wednesday in February has become an unofficial holiday for college football fans. Everyone likes to analyze which college football power had the best recruiting class and for one day everyone thinks that this is the class that will take them to a special bowl trip or even a national championship.
But the reality of National Signing Day is much more than “big time” college football. It takes dedication in both athletics and academics to earn a scholarship at any University. While many may be excited for how many five star recruits went to Alabama or Ohio State, it’s equally impressive for someone like James Oncea, the Rumson-Fair Haven offensive lineman, who’s set to get a top flight education at Johns Hopkins while playing Division 3 college football.
“Academically I plan on study engineering,” Oncea said. “I plan to go there study hard and get great grades because the degree is what matters, but have a great time playing football and really enjoy that experience.”
Lost in the fervor of football announcements are female athletes who are getting same kind of scholarship money in sports like soccer, swimming and golf. Red Bank Catholic gave the same spotlight and attention to its five female signees alongside the six high profile football stars.
“I’m just very excited to my soccer career,” Elon signee Olivia Lucia said. “I’ve always wanted to do this ever since I was little so this is a big day for me.”
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in 20 plus years of covering National Signing Day is that recruiting is an inexact science. There were just five football players from the Shore Conference who signed at the top level (FBS), but dozens signed in the FCS ranks. Others are still waiting for the chance of playing at the next level as a preferred walk-on.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Duke, UConn or Lynn University. Every one of the athletes who signed a national letter of intent did something that only a very small percentage get the opportunity to do: play college athletics and earn a scholarship. The hard work in the classroom and the playing field paid off and it’s why we need to celebrate every single athlete who accomplished this lofty goal.
FOOTBALL SIGNINGS:
- Colts Neck
Max Mullaney – Columbia
Middletown North
- Chad Freshnock – Bucknell
Middletown South
- Rob Hulse – Merrimack
- Matt Mosquera – Monmouth
Red Bank Catholic
- Mike Balzofiore – Bucknell
- Eddie Hahn – Connecticut
- Dylan Murphy – East Stroudsburg
- Ryan Oneidas – Lehigh
- Liam Smith – Duke
Mike Wilen – Sacred Heart
Red Bank Regional
- Teddy Mitchell – Sacred Heart
- Sean Naiman – Bucknell
- Sadiq Palmer – Massachusetts
Rumson-Fair Haven
- Michael Caruso – Bucknell
- James Oncea – Johns Hopkins
- Max Pfrang – Wagner
Saint John Vianney
- Calvin Beaty – Saint Francis (PA)
- Marcque Ellington – Norfolk State
- Michael Stapert – Sacred Heart
Shore Regional
- Connor Rempel – Dartmouth
OTHER SPORTS SIGNINGS
Colts Neck
- Bridgette King (soccer) – Vermont
- Alison Russo (soccer) – Bucknell
- Amanda Visco (soccer) – Rutgers
Holmdel
- Gabby Bair (soccer) – Bucknell
- Tyler Marchiano (soccer) – Bucknell
Mater Dei
- Theresa Osborne – Colorado School of Mines
Red Bank Catholic
- Olivia Lucia (soccer) – Elon
Sarah Nichols (swimming) – Lynn University - Arianna Palmeri (golf) – Fairfield
- Jackie Robinson (soccer) – Seton Hall
- Emma Sullivan (swimming) – Lafayette
Shore
- JT Kessler (soccer) – Quinnipiac
- Shannon Bunner (soccer) – Albany