Signing Day: Football

Jesuit High School celebrated National Signing Day for football in the early morning hours on Wednesday (December 4), gathering before Convocation inside the Shembekar Auditorium for a special ceremony.

With family, teammates, coaches, and teachers on hand, S.J. Green '25 (North Dakota State) and Justin Thurman '25 (University of Kansas) signed with the respective schools of their choice to continue their academic and football careers.

Jesuit principal and interim president Mike Scicchitano ’01 first spoke to Green and Thurman, expressing congratulations on their achievement of a Division I football scholarship, and encouraging them to continue to do those things that have made them successful at Jesuit.

Athletic director Terry Rupp ’84 then gave the order, and Green and Thurman, who helped Jesuit earn Region titles two of the past three seasons, put pen to paper to make it official. They then donned the cap of their schools to the applause of their supporters, before everyone headed into the lobby of the Antinori Center for the Arts for photos.

Green, who played wide receiver, cornerback and kick returner for Jesuit, had 64 receptions for 679 yards and 9 TDs in 23 games over the past two seasons for the Tigers, along with two kickoff return TDs this season. He joins North Dakota State program that has won 9 FCS national titles since 2011 and has earned a reputation for producing NFL players, including Tampa native Christian Watson of the Green Bay Packers, whose brother Tre Watson is a Jesuit assistant coach, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting right guard Cody Mauch.

Thurman, who is originally from the St. Louis area and moved to Tampa before his sophomore year at Jesuit, played running back and kick returner for Jesuit. The past two seasons he had 277 carries for 1,369 yards (5.0 avg) with 26 TDs, while also catching 32 passes for 275 yards and 4 TDs. He joins a KU program in the Big 12 Conference that played in bowl games after the 2022 and 2023 seasons and has been nationally ranked at some point in each of the past three seasons.

Click here for video of the ceremony. Go to the Facebook page Jesuit High School of Tampa for many more photos.