Jacobs’ Mooney headed to Colgate

Jacobs quarterback Bret Mooney didn’t see the point in waiting. His mind was made up

Following an official visit last weekend to Colgate’s campus in Hamilton, N.Y., the 6-foot-4, 215-pound senior called coach Dick Biddle on Monday night and gave his verbal commitment to play for the Raiders.

Mooney was originally offered a scholarship by the Patriot League school while attending a camp there on Father’s Day. He said Colgate’s combination of Division-I athletics and quality education impressed him. He chose to commit now rather than wait for possible offers from interested schools Western Michigan, Eastern Illinois and Purdue. Mooney’s father, Keith, was a Purdue linebacker.

“The schools that would have potentially offered me, even if I do have a great rest of the season, can’t compare to the academics that Colgate provides,” Mooney said Tuesday. “There’s life after football and Colgate sets it up for me to be most successful.”

Mooney holds a 3.6 grade-point average at Jacobs and scored 26 on the ACT. An all-area selection as a junior, he has completed 103 of 171 attempts for 1,381 yards with 16 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. In two varsity seasons Mooney has completed 234 of 411 attempts for 3,473 yards and 34 touchdowns.

“I’m very excited for him,” Jacobs coach Bill Mitz said. “It’s a great opportunity for him. He expects to go in and challenge for that position next year. From an academic standpoint it’s one of the greatest universities there is, and the nice thing is they’ll pay for him to go there. They made it clear he was the No. 1 guy they wanted, not just the No. 1 quarterback. When a school wants you like that, it’s hard to turn down.”

Mooney has been a driving force behind Jacobs’ 5-game winning streak. His last-minute heroics each of the past two weeks have vaulted the Golden Eagles into first place in the Fox Valley Conference’s Valley Division. With the recruiting process behind him, Mooney can focus on leading Jacobs to its first title in the FVC since 1979.

“It was a pretty tough process, but once football season started I wanted to just think about the season,” he said. “Now I really don’t have to think about college. I can just have fun with my senior year playing with the guys I’ve played with all my life.”