Mentor lineman to play for Ashland

Hunter Colao couldn’t wait to get into the car and make a phone call. Moments earlier, the two-time All-Ohioan offensive lineman had committed to Division II Ashland, accepting a football scholarship with the tradition-rich Eagles.

But before he started the trek back north, there was a phone call he had to make to his grandpa Mark Camp.

A number of years ago, Mark Camp was a center on the offensive line for legendary Ashland coach Fred Martinelli.

A senior at Mentor, Colao wanted to tell grandpa he, too, had just committed to the Eagles to play center.

“That was pretty special when I called and told him,” Colao said. “I always kept my family members in the loop when I was looking at colleges. I was really hoping I’d get to go there and play, too. I wanted to follow my family and be part of Ashland.”

Colao said his uncle Brandt Camp played soccer at Ashland as well.

“We have a long legacy there,” he said.

One that’s going to continue with the 6-foot, 275-pound Colao signing his name on a national letter of intent next week.

A three-year starter for the Cardinals, Colao had opportunities at Marietta, Baldwin-Wallace and John Carroll. But the family ties and the Ashland program were too good for Colao to pass up.

He plans to major in special education, with an eye on coaching down the road. He’s following the family roots in education, too, as his mother Abby teaches in the Cleveland school district and his father Todd was a physical education teacher in Mentor.

Colao is no stranger to dominance on the offensive line. It started that way when he was in second grade in the Mentor Youth Football League. Back then he was a two-way starter on offense and defense. But he said he’s been primarily an offensive lineman since he was 9.

Colao said he always dreamed of being the 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 type, but he topped out at 6-feet tall. Yet his college dreams never waned.

“I wasn’t the biggest lineman out there. I was undersized,” he said. “I had to show people I could play at my size and get a college scholarship.”

He played guard and tackle at Mentor but is projected to be a center at Ashland, again, likely because of his height.

“Going into my sophomore year of high school, I practiced snapping during the summer,” he said. “Coach (Matt) Gray wanted me to do it. I haven’t taken a snap since, but (the position change) is something I figured would happen eventually.”

With Colao in the starting lineup the past three years, Mentor went 33-5 on the gridiron with two trips to the Division I state final four.

“It’s crazy. I grew up watching all those Mentor teams be successful and go far in the playoffs,” he said. “Then I got to be part if it as a player instead of just watching it. Growing up and then being part of it is something special I’ll never forget.”

Not only is Colao a three-year starter in football, but he is also in his fourth year of wrestling with the Cardinals.

He hopes to carry on another family tradition when he goes to Ashland by wearing No. 72.

“That’s the number I’ve always worn,” he said. “That’s the year my dad was born - ‘72.”

Colao