Local Connection Helps Old Dominion Open Recruiting Pipeline
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For the past two football seasons, McQuaid lineman Cullen Casey has had an idea where he was going to college.
He met Ron Whitcomb at a camp held in Rochester during the summer. Currently, the quarterbacks coach at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Virginia, Whitcomb was a standout quarterback at East Rochester and at college at Maine.
"Old Dominion just always contacted me. Coach Whitcomb, being a real personable guy, he kept contacting us, McQuaid, Coach Bates talked to him many times. He's from this area, he knows how it's like being recruited out of this area. He was very relatable kind of coach who recruited me," Casey said.
While Casey might play either side of the line, Rush-Henrietta's Chauncey Scissum will play defensive back at ODU. Scissum and Casey have become friends and the McQuaid senior helped make Scissum's decision.
"Once I committed, I went down and visited, I was like, Chauncey, this place is awesome. Soon as I committed, back in June back in the last days of school, I was immediately like, we gotta get Chauncey," said Casey.
"We're good friends and we became better friends this summer. We hung out at a few football games, St. John Fisher, the Eddie Meath Game. So we became closer, got to know the coaches and they have a great staff there at Old Dominion and we're going there to make that place better," said Scissum.
Whitcomb isn't the only tie to the Monarchs. Receiver Blair Roberts out of Bishop Kearney is already leading Old Dominion, ranked fifth in the nation, in catches in his first year with the program. Next year, the Monarchs move into Conference-USA and the Football Bowl Subdivision, or Division 1-A.
"Sometimes we don't get those college coaches up here and we do have really good football players in this area and to have guys from down in that area, down south, come up here, I think it's a great thing," said Bobby Bates, McQuaid head coach.
Whitcomb plans to continue pursuit of Rochester players and getting his hometown a shot at major college football.
"I think Ronnie looks at it and says, Dad, there's kids all around this area, we just gotta get out and recruit and we've gotta look for them, et cetera. I think, once you pull one or two kids, now you start getting that connection. So, there is a talent and I don't think there's enough people, and Ronnie and I've talked about this, recruiting the Rochester area, so I think he's gonna continue to get great kids from our area and look at ODU," said Ronnie Whitcomb, Senior.