Posted on 12/27/2018 3:46:31 AM PST by csvset
NORFOLK
Old Dominion quarterback Blake LaRussa, a former walk-on who will forever hold a place in Monarchs lore for leading a historic upset of Virginia Tech, is walking away, at the height of his career.
The redshirt junior from Bishop Sullivan Catholic announced Wednesday that he will forgo his final season of eligibility and enroll in seminary school.
"It has been an incredible journey with Old Dominion football, but I would like to announce that I will be moving on from football after I graduate this spring and will be going into full-time ministry," LaRussa said in a statement released by ODU. "This fall (2019) I will be going to seminary school to start my Master’s of divinity. I am so grateful for all my coaches and teammates who I have grown so close with these past four years."
It’s a case, it could be said, of LaRussa defying convention once again.
Just 5-foot-11 and 185-pounds LaRussa always has been quietly confident in his own path, even if others couldn’t see it.
Considered too small to play Division I out of high school, LaRussa won the starting job at ODU last season, only to lose it to freshman Steven Williams. He took it back in resounding fashion in Week 4 this season, coming on in relief and sparking a 49-35 upset of the No. 13 Hokies.
LaRussa threw for 495 yards and four TDs in the win, ODU’s first over a Power Five conference team. He finished the season with 3,015 yards and 19 TDs and was voted honorable mention All-Conference USA.
The upset of the Hokies brought LaRussa national attention and acclaim, which he tried his best to deflect. Whether he was a backup or the Davy O’Brien national Player of the Week, LaRussa was invariably the same even-keeled guy.
"I am confident entering this next chapter of my life and excited to pursue what I have always known to be my heart's greatest desire, and that is to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ and help people find hope," he said.
LaRussa credited his strong faith for sustaining him through the ups and down of football. His lone scholarship offer coming out of Bishop Sullivan, where he threw for 3,794 yards and 52 TDs as a senior, was from Division II Elizabeth City State. LaRussa was determined to play at ODU. After a tryout, he was invited to walk on.
LaRussa told odusports.com that he feels the time is right to move on.
"I love football," he said. "I've always loved football.
"But this is something that I just feel God wants me to do. And it's something I want to do. Waiting another year to start just didn't make sense."
Coach Bobby Wilder and quarterbacks coach Ron Whitcomb, who invited LaRussa to walk on, had high praise for LaRussa as a player and person.
"In 2014 we recruited Blake as hard as any scholarship QB, because we saw something special in him. He took a chance on Coach Wilder, myself and ODU," Whitcomb said.
"In saying all of that, those accomplishments combined don’t equal the respect I have for who Blake is as a person, and everything he has taught me."
LaRussa’s departure leaves the QB job wide-open. The Monarchs return two players who redshirted in 2018 in Williams and walk-on Jonah Fitzgerald. They added a pair of highly-rated prospects in junior college transfer Stone Smartt and 3-star recruit Hayden Wolff.
"Everyone associated with our program is very proud of Blake and the decision he has made for his future," Wilder said. "From the moment he walked on campus he represented our program's 'aim high' philosophy."
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by;
And that has made all the difference.”
Of course the games will always be warm weather in Hell.
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