By Dylan Butler
Bayside High School football standout Jason Grant has given a verbal commitment to play for Rutgers University in the fall, according to Bayside head coach Joe Capuana.
Grant, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound outside linebacker for the Commodores, was recruited to play cornerback for the Big East school. Grant was also being courted by Division I programs, Buffalo and the University of Connecticut, as well as locals C.W. Post, Iona and New Haven. As soon as he visited Rutgers' New Brunswick campus, Grant called off his other scheduled visits.
“He just liked it so much that he's not going to bother visiting any other schools,” Capuana said.
As an outside linebacker, Grant finished with 47 tackles, seven fumble recoveries, six forced fumbles and two interceptions. On offense, where Grant was a wide receiver, he caught 29 passes for 445 yards and one touchdown. Grant also returned punts and kicks and played short safety at times for the Commodores, which went 5-6 and lost to Canarsie in the second round of the PSAL playoffs.
“I still think his best position is wide receiver, he has tremendous hands, but we're not going to argue with them,” Capuana said. “I think if we lined him up at corner from day one, it would have opened up even more doors for him. But we had to do what's best for the team.”
Capuana says Grant, who is academically eligible with an 80 average and an 890 on his SATs, should be ready to play at Rutgers right away.
“I think he'll do very well, he has to get ready for the position change,” he said. “He's going to go away this summer to work on his speed. They like his size and they think he has the speed to play cornerback. If he doesn't, he can easily move to safety.”
Grant is the first Bayside standout to commit to a college. Chris James, an offensive and defensive lineman, is close to choosing the University of New Haven. Anthony Arthur, a tight end, also visited New Haven. James West, a wide receiver, is looking at North Carolina Central and Iona and Damon Peay, a running back/defensive back, is interested in Albany.
Former Christ the King star Osei Millar, who left Boston College just before the Christmas holiday, has enrolled at Hofstra University.
The 6-foot-8 sophomore forward will be available to play for Jay Wright and the Flying Dutchmen in January 2001.
Millar averaged 3.0 points and 3.9 rebounds a game in 10.8 minutes a game through the Eagles' first 10 games. But, with the emergence of bench players Jonathan Beerbohm, Kenny Walls and Kenny Harley, the Brooklyn native became unhappy over a reduced amount of playing time and left the school before the Christmas break. Hofstra and Iona expressed interested in the forward, who was the second all-time shot blocker at Christ the King behind Lamar Odom of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers.
Awad Fady, a 5-foot-8 guard at New York City Technical College, was named the CUNY men's basketball rookie of the week. The Richmond Hill high school grad was a last second replacement in the Yellowjackets' starting lineup, yet had no problem with the adjustment. In Tech's win over Lehman, he scored a career-high 22 points on 6-12 shooting, including 4-6 from three-point range. He was also 6-6 from the free throw line. The Queens resident added five rebounds and two assists. Fady totaled 33 points off the bench for his team in NYC Technical's previous 14 games.
Queensborough Community College 79, Orange Community College 70. Sean Vandom had 22 points to lift the Tigers out of a seven-game losing streak. Ronald Souffrant added 11 of his 16 points in overtime for Queensborough (3-13, 3-10 Region XV).
