St. Paul senior Ben Pryor realized a childhood dream Wednesday when he signed a National Letter of Intent to play football at Sacred Heart University, a Football Championship Subdivision member.
Pryor will go into camp as a wide receiver, he said. In three short years, Pryor went from a sophomore who had his doubts to a senior coveted by several schools. Sacred Heart wound up being the winner.
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| St. Paul’s Ben Pryor poses with his teammates at his National Letter of Intent signing Wednesday. |
“A lot of it was the campus and how the campus fit for me,” Pryor said after signing his letter in front of family, coaches, teammates and friends.
Pryor worked hard and got himself noticed by being versatile. As a junior, he was a wide receiver and led St. Paul in touchdown receptions and yards while catching passes from Pat Etter.
In his senior season, Pryor shifted to running back as head coach Jude Kelly returned to his roots with the wishbone offense. All Pryor did was go off for 1,622 yards and 28 touchdowns while garnering several postseason honors.
“Friends are friends, and friends in high school are lifelong friends,” Kelly told the crowded leadership room at St. Paul. “They will always remember the success that you had.”
Pryor had interest at various levels from Central Connecticut State, Delaware, Bryant and Assumption, but he went with Sacred Heart.
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| Pryor with his family. |
“I just had to pick the best fit for me,” Pryor said.
Sacred Heart was going to let Pryor enter camp as a running back, but he went back to the position he held as a junior at St. Paul.
“They’re going to bring me into camp as a receiver,” Pryor said.
As a St. Paul sophomore, Pryor saw other kids getting regional and national offers. Nothing was coming his way.
“At times, I thought maybe this wasn’t going to happen,” Pryor said.
Pryor didn’t give up, however, and worked hard in the offseason. Teams took notice during the summer leading up to his senior season, and that was before he went nuts running the ball for St. Paul.
Thanks to his hard work, Pryor gets to live out his childhood dream in the fall.
“Represent us well, and you’re always a part of St. Paul,” Kelly said.
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| Pryor signs his National Letter of Intent to Sacred Heart University. |
