College signing day means changing lives of six locals
The first Wednesday in February might not have much significance to most people. It’s just another day in winter. The groundhog saw his shadow already, which means six more weeks of the frigid temperatures. The Super Bowl is already part of ancient history. Valentine’s Day is more than a week away.
However, to many high school football players across the country, including six in Hudson County, Wednesday symbolized the first day of the rest of their lives.
With one swoop of an ink pen, these young men crossed the thresholds of adolescence and into adulthood. They all finalized their futures, signing what amounts to be the first important documents of their young lives. They all made tough decisions, important moves that will forever alter their ways of life.
Wednesday was the first day that high school football players could sign national letter of intent to play college football in the fall. It was a day where high school teenagers had to prove their mettle and makeup, to see whether they are truly ready to move on with their lives and become big-time college football players.
Sure, the decisions might have been made days, weeks, even months ago. It seems like ages since Union Hill’s Pedro Sosa gave a verbal commitment to Rutgers last summer. However, on Wednesday, those decisions became concrete, official, etched in ink on a binding sheet of paper.
At St. Peter’s Prep, Joe Dailey firmly grabbed the letter of intent from the University of Nebraska and confidently scribbled his name on the dotted line. This signing came after Dailey renounced his initial verbal commitment to Syracuse, causing a furor and controversy that was felt coast-to-coast. It was a decision that bestowed some undue and unfair criticism on Dailey, forcing the young man to mature even further beyond his teen years.
"This is pretty much of a relief, to get this signed," Dailey said before a handful of sportswriters, as well as his family, coaches and school officials. "It’s a great feeling to get it done. This is another challenge in my life. I know Nebraska expects a lot from me. I know I received a lot of heat, people saying that I was a flake for de-committing. People got an attitude with me, because they wanted to know why I changed my mind. It was tough on me.
Added Dailey, "Of course, it was unfair, all the negative attention I received. When I made the decision to first go to Syracuse, the sun was shining and everyone was happy. Then I changed my mind and the clouds came out. Colleges pull out on players all the time and nothing is said. But when a player pulls out on a college, it’s controversial. People who criticized me didn’t know the circumstances why. They didn’t get a chance to know me for myself. Others kids de-committed. People have to realize what’s best for the individual. I know it sounds selfish, but I had to be selfish in this process."
At Hoboken, Ira Guilford signed the letter that everyone knew he would sign when he made his decision official last week. He signed on with the defending national champions, Ohio State, making everyone proud.
Union City had reason to celebrate in two ways. Sosa, the standout tackle, made it official with Rutgers, while Emerson’s sensational two-way performer, Manauris Arias, signed on to become a defensive back at the University of Maine, joining former teammate Joan "J.Q." Quezada, who headed north to Orono a year ago.
North Bergen also had two reasons to smile. Not only did standout linebacker/fullback Eric Macias agree to a grant-in-aid package to attend Columbia University, but the fine two-way lineman Bobby Lane agreed to sign with the University of Albany.
Lane will head to Albany as a defensive end.
"The fact that I could go there and start right away was appealing to me," said Lane, who had a chance to go to Rutgers as a walk-on, but had to reluctantly turn down the plea made by former North Bergen great and current Rutgers assistant Mark D’Onofrio.
"It was hard to say ‘no,’ to him because he’s a Bruin," said Lane, who was also weighing offers from Monmouth, St. Peter’s College, New Hampshire, James Madison and Bryant College. "Albany has a winning tradition and I felt comfortable there. They want me to play defense, so that helped me make my decision. I was always hoping to have a day like this since I was little. I am glad I was able to make my dreams come true."
Macias, who is ranked among the top 10 students at North Bergen and earned a score of 1,290 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, became interested in Columbia when the New York Ivy League school hired former Chicago Bears assistant Bob Shoop as the new head coach.
"Once I got to meet him, I fell in love with him and the coaching staff," Macias said. "I’m more of a city kid anyway and you can’t beat being in the city where it all happens."
Macias was reminded that he’s the first North Bergen football player to commit to an Ivy League school since Chris Johnson went to the University of Pennsylvania more than a decade ago.
"I guess it is a great accomplishment for me," said Macias, who plans to study either pre-med or pharmacy at Columbia. "It shows that you don’t have to pay thousands of dollars to go to high school, that you can achieve your dreams if you work hard no matter what school you’re at. I definitely wanted to play fullback in college and I was really interested in Columbia, so I’m glad it worked out for me."
Macias had his choice of three Ivy League schools, namely Dartmouth, Princeton and Columbia, as well as the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, receiving a recommendation from Rep. Robert Menendez.
"I had some options, but I’m glad it turned out to be Columbia," Macias said.
Six Hudson County kids, getting a chance to live out a dream. They’re moving on, going on to big-time college life, big time college football. It’s definitely going to be a change.
"I had a guy at the airport ask me for my autograph," said Dailey, who had to conduct three radio interviews with Nebraska radio stations Wednesday. "I mean, I didn’t know how this guy knew me. I guess out there everyone knows who you are."
That’s for sure. That’s the kind of thing that happens when you’re big-time.