It just made sense.
Erasmus Hall football standouts Oniel Stanbury, Selwin Wilks, and Jahquel Webb have done just about everything together since they first suited up for the Dutchmen. They’ve worked out together, they’ve won (and lost) together, they’ve watched more film together than they knew existed — and so it just made sense that they’d go to college together too.
The Dutchmen trio all committed to Stony Brook University, celebrating their collective achievement during a ceremony at the Flatbush school on Feb. 1.
“Since high school started, I’ve been with these two forever,” said receiver Jahquel Webb. “Every day we spend time together and we push each other, so there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to be together in college.”
The trio all took their official visit to Stony Brook together and, as soon as they stepped on campus, the group new they’d found the perfect school — for all of them.
Stanbury, Wilks, and Webb had others offers, but the opportunity to compete together at the Division I level was one they couldn’t pass up. The group decided to enroll early, becoming the first football players in Seawolves program history to arrive at school a semester early.
“After the season we had different offers, but this is the only one we had together,” Wilks said.
It’s been a whirlwind for the trio settling into a college schedule that’s completely different from anything they dealt with at Erasmus.
They’re attending lectures, going through workouts, and trying to figure out how to do laundry on their own. Every experience is a new experience, but it’s also a shared one.
“It’s adapting to new things, and it’s just way different from high school,” Wilks said. “I’m living on my own. I’ve got to do my own laundry, got to cook for myself. It’s different.”
Stanbury, Wilks, and Webb add to a growing number of Division-I players out of Erasmus Hall. The Dutchmen have now sent 17 gridiron standouts to the next level since 2009, and no one was prouder of the trio than head coach Danny Landberg.
“We want this just as much as we want to win a championship,” Landberg said. “This to me, is actually more important. It’s an opportunity to put these kids in a better place.”
The trio expects to rack up the minutes next season, anxious to leave their mark on one of the toughest conferences in the country — the Colonial Athletic Association.
“I just know every day that I’ve got to work hard,” Webb said. “I know there are people better than me, but I’ve got to keep grinding so I can be the best.”
The Dutchmen standouts are still trying to come to terms with being college students, but they’re thankful for the built-in support system they have in each other. They’ve been teammates forever, but they’re friends as well, and they’re certain that will make the difference on and off the field.
“You went from a high-school student to a college within two or three days,” Stanbury said. “But as a group, we were like, ‘We’re going to put our minds there and go there.’ ”
