Fourqurean makes history in his family

GVSU commit and Mentor student Nyzier Fourqurean celebrates being the first in his family to attend college.

National signing day was special for many on Feb. 5, with student-athletes from around the area signing national letters of intent to their respective college choices.

For one area student-athlete, the day was historic.

When Mentor’s Nyzier Fourqurean signed to play football at Grand Valley State, he made family history.

“This is a big deal for me,” Fourqurean said. “I’m the first person in my family to go to college. I’m so thankful for the opportunity at Grand Valley State and for coming from such a great school like Mentor. I’m blessed.”

Fourqurean, a defensive back, originally committed to St. Francis (Pa.), but found what he called a better fit at Grand Valley State.

He also considered Ferris State and Notre Dame College.

“As soon as I visited, I fell in love with it at first glance,” said Fourqurean, who will major in criminal justice. “I’m so thankful for all the support around me, and my family for pushing me to be here.”

Fourqurean was one of numerous student-athletes from around The NewsHerald area, including three others from Mentor.

Lineman Byron Floyd signed as a walk-on at Pittsburgh, linebacker Kyle Bischof signed as a walk-on with Akron, and Grace London signed to play lacrosse at Ursuline College.

Floyd’s trek to FBS football took him on a whirlwind tour of schools from Clemson to Toledo to Pittsburgh. Since many/most FBS schools only have one long-snapper on scholarship, Floyd said Pittsburgh has a returning senior starter at that position, so he is currently going to be walking on.

“My goal is to go in, be a backup, travel with the team and redshirt,” he said. “Next year I’ll take over and get a scholarship.”

Floyd will major in biology.

“It’s a big day,” he said of signing his letter of intent. “I’ve been dreaming of this day, to play Division I football. It’s been a long couple weeks, but I got it done.”

spring. Kicker/punter Keaton Ziegenfuss is headed to Kent State as a preferred walk-on.

“It’s an awesome feeling,” Dinko said of making his college choice. “After going to all those schools and then finally making a decision, that’s exciting. And obviously, playing with my brother again is huge.”

Joey took a medical redshirt this past season with an ankle injury. He will have two years of eligibility remaining starting this fall.

“This opportunity over the next two years is going to be awesome,” John Dinko said.

As a senior, Dinko led the team with 17 TFLs, five sacks and four forced fumbles. He also piled up more than 50 tackles no defense.

He chose Case over Valparaiso, Butler, Carnegie Mellon, John Carroll, Lake Erie, Mercyhurst and the University of Chicago.

Dinko will join his brother in majoring in business finance and accounting.

“Today also felt great because I tore my (left) ACL my junior year,” Dinko said. “I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to play again. To get to go play on the next level is great because looking back, I didn’t know if that would ever be possible.”

NDCL

At this rate, Hillsdale College is going to start being known as NDCL’s west campus.

For the third year in a row, Hillsdale snapped up an All-Ohio player from Coach Andrew Mooney’s team. Linebacker/running back Jack Robinson signed on Feb. 5, joining 2019 signee Zach Urda and 2018 signee Josh Peroni.

Robinson was one of nine student-athletes from NDCL to sign letters of intent on Feb. 5. Seven were football players: Robert Tamburrino (Grove City), Sam Urbanski (Butler), Max Zart (Marist), Spencer Jacobson (Allegheny), Dominic Dutton (Marist), Nick Balogh (Case Western Reserve) and Robinson.

Daniel Milo signed to play golf at Lake Erie, while Michael Petronzio signed to play lacrosse at Westminster.

“Creating a little pipleline there,” said Robinson of his decision to follow Peroni and Urda to Hillsdale. “It’s and awesome school academically and athletically. I’m happy to be able to continue my athletic career there while getting a great education.”

Robinson, who will major in Biology, said his commitment to Hillsdale came in no small part to the presence of Peroni and Urda.

“That made a huge difference on where I was going,” he said. “I look up to those guys. They’re hard workers and overall great people. I might not be going to Hillsdale if not for them.”

As a senior, Robinson ran for 623 yards and five touchdowns. He also had 83 tackles on defense, with nine TFLs.

While Robinson gained his stripes a NDCL as a linebacker and running back, there’s a good chance he’ll be playing a new position on the college level.

“They said I’d either play running back or safety,” he said. “I like the idea (of playing safety). I’m only like 195 pounds. I know I’m going to gain more weight, but I have a good read for the game. I’ve never played safety before, but I like the idea.”

Kenston

It doesn’t seem that long ago that Jon Tomcufcik and Tyler Mintz were sitting in the bleachers at Kenston High School as freshmen, watching seniors at their school sign letters of intent to go on to play collegiately in various sports.

Things were different on Feb. 5. The pair of firstteam All-Ohio football players were front and center at a signing ceremony at Kenston, with Tomcufcik signing to play at Ashland and Mintz signing to play at Dayton.

Also signing from the Kenston football team were receiver Jay Middleton (Community Christian Junior College) and Connor Kratzert (Denison).

“Time flies,” Tomcufcik said. “The seniors then told us we better savor the moment, because there’s going to be a time it’ll be us up there signing those letters — and it’s going to come quicker than you think. Today was exciting, but it was bittersweet.”

Tomcufcik is a two-time, first-team All-Ohioan. This past fall he threw for 1,862 yards and 25 touchdowns, while also running for four scores.

“I knew that was the school once I visited,” he said. “I knew on my visit. That’s where I wanted to go.”

He will major in business.

Mintz earned first team All-Ohio honors after catching 63 passes for more than 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns. He picked Dayton over Akron.

“It’s a family thing — my dad and uncle went there,” Mintz said. “I’m carrying on the tradition of the Mintz family. Dayton football is a big deal to me.”

Middleton caught 23 passes for 409 yards and scored four touchdowns this year. He also started on defense for the Bombers.

Middleton had offers from Thiel, Mount Union, John Carroll, and also talked with Grand Valley State, but opted to go the JUCO route in North Carolina.

“They made me feel like they could help me get to the next level,” said Middleton, who will major in business.

Kratzert was an anchor on the line for the Bombers the past two years. He picked Denison over Wooster, Allegheny, Muskingum, John Carroll and others.

“It’s a nice down, just outside of Columbus,” he said. “It just felt like a second home to me.”

Kratzert will major in economics.

Notes

Also signing letters of intent on Feb. 5 were:

• Madison’s Jacob Glass, who signed with Walsh University.

• Benedictine’s Charles Rosser, who signed with Bowling Green.

Fourqurean