Winter Signing Day

Six Jesuit High School student-athletes signed with the colleges of their choice Wednesday (Feb. 7) at a morning signing ceremony in the President’s Board Room at Jesuit.

Family, friends, coaches, and media were on hand for the special event. Jesuit president Fr. Richard C. Hermes, S.J. and athletic director Terry Rupp ’84 first addressed the signees, encouraging them to continue to strive for excellence on the field and in the classroom at Jesuit and in college. Then Rupp gave the instruction, and they signed their National Letter of Intent.

Five football players and one soccer player signed:

• Brendenn Flynn – Football – Lawrence University
• Braden Gilby – Football – Furman University
• Noah Kurtz – Soccer – University of Tampa
• Anthony Nelson – Football – Harvard University
• Nick Terrana – Football – Southern Illinois University
• Kendrick Torain – Football – Duke University

Kurtz is a four-year starter and All-Tampa Bay selection who has helped Jesuit soccer to four District titles, a Region title, and a 25-1 record so far this season. He is the second Jesuit soccer player to sign with UT the past three years (Trevor Brown ’16).

Gilby, a linebacker, helped Jesuit football to a 31-7 record the past three seasons, leading the Tigers in tackles as a sophomore, junior, and senior. Furman, in Greenville, S.C., is an FCS school in the Southern Conference and was 8-5 last season. Nelson, a defensive end, had numerous major college and many other Ivy League offers in addition to Harvard. The past two seasons combined he compiled a remarkable 61 tackles for loss and 24 sacks.

Terrana, a linebacker, was a force as a senior, making 110 tackles with 25 for loss and 10 sacks. Southern Illinois, in Carbondale, Ill., is an FCS school in the Missouri Valley Conference. Torain is a national recruit who considered offers from schools such as UCLA and Nebraska before deciding on Duke last week. A cornerback, Torain joins OL Clark Bulleit ’15 on the Blue Devils. Duke was 7-6 this past season and has played in a bowl game 5 of the past 6 years. Flynn, a quarterback, is headed to Division III Lawrence in Appleton, Wisc., which plays in the Midwest Conference.

This was the second of three college signing ceremonies scheduled at Jesuit this school year. The third will take place April 11. Each year, 20-30 Jesuit student-athletes sign to participate in college athletics.

Click below for a photo slideshow from the ceremony, and below that for a video: