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Curtis star defensive lineman gets All-American invite
By Zachary Braziller April 28, 2009Pete Gambardella saw signs of greatness in Dominique Easley as an underclassman. He was explosive, strong as an ox and versatile. His junior year, Easley gained consistency.
“He really took off and made a lot of plays,” Gambardella said of his standout defensive lineman, who had 51 tackles, 10 sacks, two fumble recoveries and one interception last season.
As a result, more than a dozen BCS conference schools have offered him scholarships and Easley was recently invited to participate in the Under Armour All-American Game Jan. 10, 2010 in Orlando Fla., a national showcase to be televised live on ESPN.
“It’s a great feeling,” Easley told the Staten Island Advance. “I never thought this would happen.”
He becomes the first Curtis player to participate in an All-American football game of any kind, Gambardella said. Ranked among the top 150 prospects in the country by Rivals.com, the 6-foot-3, 260-pound Easley has 13 Division I offers from prestigious football programs such as Tennessee, Michigan, Boston College, Penn State and Florida. Syracuse and Rutgers have also offered scholarships to Easley, who has yet to take an official visit and likely won’t decide on a school until sometime this fall.
“This is all new to us at Curtis,” Gambardella said.
He has never taken part in a talent camp; his game film has elicited more than enough interest. Gambardella said schools started to notice Easley as a sophomore when he helped lead Curtis to the city championship, playing alongside his brother, David, who is now at Nassau Community College, and Dominick Le Grande, a sophomore linebacker at Boston College.
“They were very impressed with his quickness,” Gambardella said. “He has the ability with his size to play inside but also with his speed to play outside.”