Michael Coulter sets sights on medical school

Injured Stony Brook quarterback Michael Coulter recently applied to the university's medical school. His desire to begin his career path now outweighs playing the sport he has loved since childhood, he said.

Coulter will not seek a medical redshirt for this abbreviated season; he hopes to soon be wearing scrubs. He will graduate in December with a degree in biochemistry. "Medical school has been my dream since I was a kid, it's what my aspirations are,'' Coulter said this past week. "Going to medical school and being a doctor.''

Coulter suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during drills in June but still started the Seawolves' first four games. No one expected him to alter his plan to attend med school.

"That's Coulter,'' running back Miguel Maysonet said. "He knows his brain is basically going to get him further in life. He knows football is not going to last forever. It was smart for him to [start] his path as being a doctor.''

Coulter started 26 games for Stony Brook in less than three seasons, passing for 4,218 yards and 32 touchdowns. He started his career in 2007 at Syracuse, where he also had a knee injury and never played. He transferred to Stony Brook after one season of junior college ball in his native California.

Realizing his injury probably would curtail his season, Coulter mentored backup Kyle Essington. "He's really been like a role model to me,'' Essington said. "He showed me so much about the game. It has been a blessing to have him take me under his wing. He's so ambitious, I know he's going to go on and do great things in the medical field. He just has that persona and attitude about him. He's just a winner. Whatever he does, he's going to succeed. That's just who Mike Coulter is.''

Coach Chuck Priore said he is not sure if Coulter could have qualified for the redshirt, but the coach said the player was focused on his next step. "Football was terminal, he knew that," Priore said, adding that Coulter will succeed in any profession. "There's no doubt he'll be president of the United States if he wants to be.''

Two summers ago, Coulter spent time in the rural villages of Honduras with a medical brigade team. "It was amazing,'' he said. "That's what I want to do, serving the underserved, whether it be America or overseas. It was an amazing opportunity to serve people who have never seen a doctor, people without basic necessities that we take for granted.''

Coulter's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday. When he recovers, he'll rejoin his teammates on the sideline. "I'm so thankful for the opportunities I had here,'' he said. "The environment, the guys I played with, a lot of positive great memories. I'm going to miss it a lot; it's been my life since I was 10 years old. I'll be all right, though.''