Early signing day: Vero Beach celebrates its treasure trove of future Division I athletes

VERO BEACH — On the biggest day of the year for high school athletes, six Vero Beach Fighting Indians inked letters of intent to play at the next level on Wednesday afternoon at the school’s Performing Arts Center.

For the early portion of national signing day 2023, five Vero Beach football players — Tyler Aronson, Xavion “Tutu” Griffin, Kevin Pollock, Amar Reynolds and Chase Stevens — and golfer Marissa Weaver decided on their colleges in a ceremony shortly after noon.

Vero Beach’s quarterback the past two seasons, Aronson built a relationship with SMU coach Rhett Lashlee during the latter’s tenure as the offensive coordinator under former Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz.

Aronson chose to play for Lashlee at the Dallas school as a junior and stuck to that commitment.

Meanwhile, Lashlee’s Mustangs have gone 18-8 in those two seasons and will play Boston College in the Fenway Bowl on Dec. 28 in the Red Sox’s legendary Fenway Park.

Also since Aronson’s commitment, SMU has left the American Athletic Conference and joined the Atlantic Coast Conference — advancing from the Group of Five’s AAC to the Power Five’s ACC.

“I knew they were joining the Power Five pretty soon and knew coach Lashlee was super capable of competing with Power Five schools,” said Aronson. “They’re doing a really good job in the transfer portal. It’s not a surprise to me.”

Cornerback Reynolds (Illinois) and offensive lineman Stevens (Florida) will also settle in at Power Five schools.

With strong ties to Illinois coach Bret Bielema dating back to when Bielema took over for Barry Alvarez as Wisconsin’s head coach in 2006, Vero Beach head coach Lenny Jankowski mentioned Reynolds, a talented but relatively unknown prospect, to the Fighting Illini staff.

“I felt like (Vero) was the place I needed to be,” said Reynolds, who transferred to the Indians for his senior season after playing at Westwood. “I’m glad I ran into Coach J because I wouldn’t be here right now if I didn’t.”

Stevens, an offensive lineman who will be a preferred walk-on, grew up a fan of the Gators and said being able to play with them is a “dream come true.”

“Ever since I learned anything about football, I was a Gator fan,” said Stevens, who will enroll in the spring like Aronson. “I’m super excited. I can’t wait to see the man I’ll become when I’m there.”

Similar to Reynolds, Griffin chose to leave his school — St. Lucie West Centennial — following his junior year and play his final one at Billy Livings Field at the Citrus Bowl.

“It was a big change,” said Griffin of his decision after a coaching change at the Port St. Lucie school made him want to leave. “We all kind of departed and went to other schools. Guys were leaving left and right. I said, ‘Bro, I want to go play at Vero' and a couple of guys followed behind me and some didn’t.

“I was ready. After the season, I just chose Vero and it became home.”

Perhaps the biggest commitment of all was made by Pollock: Deciding to go to the U.S. Military Academy West Point and play for the Army Black Knights.

The linebacker said rebounding from a torn labrum against Cocoa was a learning experience for him.

“(Army) is a very big accomplishment for me because just a couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have thought I’d be signing today,” Pollock said. “I went through a very difficult phase with the injury, and I was nervous about the whole process. But I stuck to the plan.

“It’s all about if you really want it and want to go get it and overcome it. (The injury) made me a better athlete and a better person. It made me believe in myself more.”

After helping lead Vero Beach to an eight-place finish in the state golf championships, Weaver signed to tee it up with Allegheny College in western Pennsylvania a couple of hours north of Pittsburgh.

She is the first Vero Beach girls golfer to sign to play in college since 2021.

“I’ve played for 10 years, and I saw my game grow progressively since the summer,” Weaver said. “Allegheny has everything I want there, and I’m very excited.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Vero Beach celebrates treasure trove of future Division I athletes