Five Homestead football players signed their letters of intent yesterday evening. Sean Rice, Brady Parker, Owen Hire, Carter Cronenwett, and Ryan Burton all signed to continue their athletic and academic careers at the University of Saint Francis.
“They’re all great kids. They’re all extremely well coached. They’re from a great program,” USF Defensive Coordinator and Co-Recruiting Coordinator Joey Didier said. “They all, each, individually, bring different things to the table, and every one of them is going to bring something positive to our program.”
“I know the [Saint Francis] coaching staff well. They care about them becoming men,” Homestead head coach Chad Zolman said. “They care about them becoming better football players and good students. So I know they’re going to be well taken care of. It’s a good choice and a good fit for all of them.”
Those five athletes will join a successful program. The Cougars are coached by long-time head coach Kevin Donley. Donley has been a head coach for 45 years; 21 of them at Saint Francis. Among his accomplishments, he has led the Cougars to two NAIA Championships.
“I can’t wait [to play for him], I’ve heard only good things about Coach Donley, so I’m very excited to get in there, and get into his program, and start playing for him,” Hire said.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun, especially since he’s been there pretty much the entire time,” Rice said. “And just being able to play with a coach that’s that recognized around the nation, that’s going to be a lot of fun, and an opportunity, and a blessing.”
Burton played primarily on the defensive side. He has experience at linebacker and defensive back. This past season he was the Spartans’ third leading tackler with 65 total tackles, including 8.5 tackles for loss. He added three sacks and two interceptions to that. The Cougars expect to use him on the defensive side of the ball. He may play either middle or outside linebacker. In 2019, Burton (along with Tyler Burris) filled in at running back after Braeden Hardwick suffered a season-ending ACL tear. Burton averaged 5.6 yards per carry that year and had two 100+ yard rushing games in Hardwick’s absence. He is undecided as to his major at this point, but has said that he will probably major in Business.
“Coach Didier and Coach Donley, they’ve been recruiting me for a while, and I just became really close with them, and they’re really great people,” Burton said. “I like the home feeling about Saint Francis, and it’s just a great fit for me.”
Parker was a starting offensive lineman at Homestead. He plans to major in Criminal Justice. He believed USF was the best fit for him academically and appreciates the success the team has had on the gridiron. The Cougars have won two National Championships.
“[USF Assistant] Coach [Trevor] Miller and Coach Didier have a really good program and a good football team,” Parker said. “I couldn’t be happier signing with these four other guys.”
Hire was also a starting offensive lineman. He expects to continue playing on the offensive line, but could see himself making a switch to H-back. He is undecided as far as his major is concerned, but is leaning towards Management. Hire also had offers from schools such as Ohio Wesleyan, Illinois Wesleyan, Trine, Depauw, and others. But ultimately, Hire chose to play for the Saint Francis. He had some familiarity with the school, which played a key role in his decision.
“Growing up, going to all the Saint Francis camps, it just felt like home,” Hire said. “So it’s very exciting, and I can’t wait to get back out on campus and start practicing.”
Rice also started on Homestead’s offensive line, particularly as a guard. He plans to continue playing the guard position in college. Like Parker, Rice plans to major in Criminal Justice. He appreciates USF’s success and tradition, which proved to be a reason for his commitment. Another reason for his decision was his familiarity with some of the coaches.
“I know Coach Didier and Coach Miller,” Rice said. “They remind me a lot of our coaches here. So that helped a lot. And staying home [also] helped.”
Cronenwett played both outside and inside linebacker at Homestead. As a senior, he was the Spartans’ fourth leading tackler with 60 total tackles. He also came up with six tackles for loss. He may play strong safety at Saint Francis. He plans to major in Business and eventually work in either Marketing or as a financial advisor. Cronenwett’s communication with the USF coaches played a factor into his commitment to the Cougars.
“Talking to all the coaches, they just took me in as family,” Cronenwett said. “They showed me all around campus, and their program, and the academics. So it was really cool for them to do that. That’s probably one of the biggest things that [helped me make] my choice.”
Those five athletes all look forward to being teammates again in college just like in high school.
“[I’ll be] playing the next four years with guys I’ve grown up with, not only from high school, but all the way down to playing tee-ball,” Cronenwett said. “So, it’s awesome to bring my friendship over [to] Saint Francis. Staying home is great because I love the area, I love Fort Wayne, so Saint Francis is a great pick there.”
“That’s great, especially being able to play with Owen and Brady for four more years, since we played together since seventh grade,” Rice said. “So that’s going to be fun.”
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Saint Francis’ season is expected to start in February. However, Burton, Parker, Hire, Rice, and Cronenwett will not be playing any games for the Cougars until the following season, which starts during the fall of 2021.
“Since they’re five minutes down the road, we’re hoping that COVID [19] allows us to bring these guys into the program to learn, to sit in meetings watch practices, see strength and conditioning sessions, to really get a jump-start,” Didier said. “But they’ll be officially joining the team in the fall of ’21.”
All the same, Didier thinks their futures look very bright.
“All of them should see the field in a role at some point in time in their career in a very high level as long as they stick with the program, continue to; like we preach in our program; ‘fill their bucket’, meaning reach their maximum potential,” Didier said. “They all do excellent things; things from Sean’s size, Brady’s explosiveness, Owen’s intelligence, Carter’s speed, and Ryan’s versatility. They all bring something great to the table. So as long as they hone in on the process of continuing to improve every day, they’re going to have great careers.”
