Mon, Nov 23 2009
|
It’s the cat’s life Dismuke went from Puma to Bengal and will be Bearcat ADAM RAEDERStar Beacon “It wasn’t too hard. Our freshman team was great,” he said. “We dominated everybody we played. We lost one game our freshman year and it was to St. Ed’s.”
By the end of his freshman year, Dismuke was on varsity, anyway, getting moved up during Benedictine’s playoff run. When his sophomore year rolled around, he was the starting strong safety and kick returner. And that’s when he started showing up on Cincinnati’s radar. “I think it was back when I was a sophomore, I know my head coach, he talked to Coach Molnar, their wide receivers coach. Coach Molnar, he came up to my school this last year and I gave him some highlight film. They liked my film, my personality, my attitude.” But in the following year, Dismuke matured greatly. As a junior, he turned as much attention to his academics as he did his athletics, holding a 3.0 GPA his junior campaign, bringing his cumulative average up to 2.7, a sight important for prospective colleges. “Romel, in the last year, matured both in the classroom and he put a lot of effort in the offseason — after his basketball — (into his athletics),” t Bortnick said. “He went to a (training) facility and put a lot of effort into it, and he went to a number of combines and one-day junior college visits. He performed very, very good. College assistants I talked to were very impressed with his effort, his maturity. As he goes into his senior year, his efforts really paid off. “When he came to Benedictine as an incoming freshman, we saw the raw talent. But raw talent can never surface unless it’s given an opportunity to be matured and given perimeters where he had to find the discipline, the work involved, understanding his athletic ability won’t get him to the next level unless his school is improved. “He did put the work in preparing for the college board test, so that he got his grades in line if a scholarship is offered to him. ... That maturity, he came a long way. Who knows if he stayed in Ashtabula if that ever came to the front.” Dismuke also impressed with his versatility on the field, where has seen time at quarterback, wide receiver, running back and cornerback. In fact, Bortnick still considers Dismuke’s performance in the first game of his junior season, when he started at quarterback against Norte Dame Cathedral Latin, as one of his very best. Dismuke had never played quarterback before, but that didn’t stop him from running for two touchdowns and throwing for one more in the 28-7 triumph at Cleveland Browns Stadium. “He had an outstanding game. ... His efforts were rewarded by being named MVP in the game,” Bortnick said. “For his first start at the quarterback position, that was quite an accomplishment.” For now, the Bearcats plan on using him in their return game, though they see his true position as a defensive back. Dismuke, who went to the state track meet as part of Benediction’s 400-meter relay, posted his personal-best time in the 40-yard dash at a summer camp with the Bearcats, running a 4.35. Dismuke also boasts a blistering time of 3.91 seconds in the shuttle drill, a drill most coaches value highly when evaluating a defensive back. 
More from the Sports section
A Don McCormack column: Caught on tape... from 30 years ago A Don McCormack column: Meyer to be pursued by many |
Print this story
Post to del.icio.us
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
© 2009, Ashtabula Star Beacon
P.O. Box 2100, Ashtabula OH 44005-2100 (440) 998-2323, Send news tips and feedback 
|
Popular Business directory links - Ashtabula Apartments | Ashtabula Attorneys | Ashtabula Auto Dealers | Ashtabula Auto Parts | Ashtabula Auto Repair | Ashtabula Beauty Salons | Ashtabula Car Rental | Ashtabula Dentists | Ashtabula Doctors | Ashtabula Flowers | Ashtabula Hotels | Ashtabula Insurance | Ashtabula Loans | Ashtabula Mortgages | Ashtabula Movers | Ashtabula Pizza | Ashtabula Realtors | Ashtabula Restaurants | Ashtabula Storage | Ashtabula Tax Preparation | Ashtabula Travel | Ashtabula Featured | More...
|
|
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. • CNHI Classified Advertising Network • CNHI News Service |
