Dragons Linebacker Winters Signs National Letter of Intent

Surrounded by his family and coaching staff, Tom Winters put his athletic and academic future in the hands on Monmouth University Wednesday.

After four successful seasons under three different head coaches for the Brick Dragons football team, Winters signed his national letter of intent Wednesday morning, officially committing to Monmouth University.

Winters was the star of Brick's defense this fall, and will play linebacker for the Hawks next year on scholorship.

"It's definitely a relief, I'm just really excited to get after it and start playing Monmouth football," Winters said.

Winters' 28 tackles were the team-high for Brick, which finished 6-4 in it's first season under head coach Rob Dahl.

As for choosing to play in West Long Branch, Winters said it was all about staying close to home.

"It came down to being local and it's definitely a great place to be," Winters said. "I love all the guys and I love the coaches. I'm excited to play in front of the people that I've been playing with my entire life."

Winters finished with 97 tackles in his varsity career, along with seven sacks.

In his two varsity seasons, Winters was named the defensive player of the year for Brick, and was named the Shore Conference's most outstanding linebacker.

"It means a lot. We preach academics first, academics first. Monmouth is a tough academic school to get into, and Tom did that academically," Dahl said. "It means a lot for the program that we're not just preaching on-the-field stuff but also preaching off-the-field stuff.

"We're hoping the other kids will see this and want to follow Tom's footsteps."

Winters signed his letter of intent on the national signing day, where students around the country were committing to NCAA division one schools.

He was surrounded by his parents, Dahl, Brick Township schools Athletic Director Bill Bruno and Brick Township High School Principal Dennis Filippone.

"Tom leads by example. He's a quiet leader, but he leads by example. All the kids like the excitement that he plays with," Dahl said, "He's an easy kid to coach. He does all the things we tell him to, he reads the gameplan inside and out and just eats, breathes and sleeps football."

Winters will join a Hawks team that is graduating two linebackers in May.

"My four years here were great," Winters said. "It was time to improve on myself and to take my game to the next level. To be able to have this experience helped me be able to play division one football in college."

Winters reportedly had a number of offers from different schools around the country, but decided to remain at the Shore.

"We have a saying here, and that's 'you haven't been hit until you've been hit by Brick.' Monmouth is going to find out really soon that you haven't been hit until you've been hit by Tom Winters," Dahl said.

"I think he's going to turn into a stud player. You're going to hear his name a lot."