By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
GRANITE QUARRY ó Division II football programs are permitted to bring prospects in for workouts, and East Rowan’s Ben DeCelle made eyes pop and jaws drop at UNC Pembroke.
Skill-position athletes such as the 5-foot-10, 180-pound DeCelle usually perform bench-press repetitions at 185 pounds.
DeCelle opted instead to slide under the 225 pounds of iron the linemen handle and began knocking out reps. He did five. He did 10. He kept going to 15.
“Pembroke had linemen working out who were high-fiving each other after doing seven or eight,” East coach Brian Hinson said with a smile. “They stopped high-fiving, but that still was one less rep than Ben did at Wingate. One Pembroke coach said, ‘Son, maybe we should move you to offensive line.’ ”
DeCelle, who has a bench-press max over 300 pounds, solid speed (high 4.5s) and sharp grades, signed with UNC Pembroke. Both his choice of schools and position were unexpected. He expected to play free safety in college, but the Braves signed him as a receiver.
“Sure, I was a little surprised,” DeCelle said. “But we sent out film of me both ways, and Pembroke needs wideouts more than safeties. I don’t care ó offense or defense ó just so long as I keep the pads on. Signing was a relief. I told Coach I feel 100 pounds lighter.”
Wingate and Newberry made serious offers, but as a state-supported school, UNCP has an edge. The cost of attending UNCP is about 75 percent less than private schools. While Wingate and Newberry offered serious dollars, there would still be bills to pay. His best deal was UNCP where he’ll essentially go for free.
“An affordable D-II is a huge attraction,” Hinson said. “When they started (Pembroke played its first game in 50 years in 2007), they didn’t go into it blind. They hired a good staff and got off to a good start.”
UNCP went 9-1 in 2008 against a soft mix of D-IIs, D-IIIs and NAIAs. But the Braves play Wingate (they lost to the Bulldogs 23-16 in ’08), Carson-Newman and Fayetteville State next fall. If they go 9-1, it will mean something.
All-county three times, DeCelle seldom made headlines as a senior because he was a 10-1 athlete on a 1-10 team. Hinson called him an “Arena League guy” because he stayed on the field.
“To say it was a tough year is an understatement,” Hinson said. “Every coach wants to win, but when one of your guys gets a chance to play in college and you can help some, that’s worth a lot of wins right there. Ben’s signing is sort of the end of our season.”
DeCelle returned kicks (including the second kickoff return TD of his career), made 95 tackles at free safety and led East’s rushing attack in three games.
He broke receiving marks for a team that wasn’t an aerial circus. His 49 regular-season catches were a school record. His 88 career grabs rank second all-time at a school that has competed for 50 years. His 1,196 receiving yards rank third.
“A lot of schools liked him on offense,” Hinson said. “When we were down at Coastal Carolina’s camp, Coach (David) Bennett said Ben would make someone a great little slot receiver.”
The versatile DeCelle has been competing in indoor track sprints and will be an outfield regular for East’s baseball team this spring.
He thought back in August he might get to tackle people for Wofford or Coastal, but he’s excited about his latest challenge.
“Pembroke is going in the right direction,” he said. “It’s funny because driving down there the first time I was getting a little anxious, wondering where in the world the place was. But then you’re there, and all the stuff ó and I mean the dorms, not just the football facilities ó is brand new. They told me the population has doubled down there in the last five years.”
Pembroke’s population will soon grow by one. The Braves are adding a surprisingly strong Mustang.
“I think there’s a lot of people who missed the boat on Ben,” Hinson said. “As a staff we did our best to put him where his heart was.”