Stony Brook football features 3 high school duos from Long Island

It is among the rites of passage for every college football program across the nation.

Incoming players get their equipment from a manager. They meet with the head coach and their position coaches. They spend time at their school’s practice facility on spring and summer days running the plays that they believe will thrill fans on Saturdays time and again.

And during those moments, players begin to get to know one another. Small talk leading to quick chats, which in turn evolve into longer conversations.

It is bond building.

Coaches and players and team staffers stress its importance. Because, as the accepted thinking goes, the camaraderie nurtured on those long days in empty facilities can benefit their team at points across the season. 

It is a reasonable theory. But it also raises questions.

What if those bonds already exist? What if those ties are long-standing? 

Those questions are being asked and answered at Stony Brook, in the form of three duos from the same high schools: Offensive lineman Tyler Burbatsky and tight end Andrew Riggs from Commack; safety Aiden Barnes and offensive lineman Malachi Collins from Elmont; inside linebacker Nick Serrano and defensive lineman Anthony Borawski from West Babylon.

So, how did this happen?  Call it kismet.

“It was definitely a thought, but it happened a little more organically,” Burbatsky told Newsday after a recent practice ended at   LaValle Stadium. “It wasn’t too much discussed but it was definitely a thought in our minds: What if we did play together?"

Collins essentially echoed Burbatsky as he recalled the process that led him and Barnes to Stony Brook.

“We always joked and talked about playing together,” Collins said. “Now that we are, it’s just a blessing . . .  to have another four years, five years with this guy.”

So, yes, the thought of playing college football was a concept for the Elmont and Commack pairings. Then there is the West Babylon duo, who, according to Borawski, initially had other plans.

“The first thing in my mind definitely wasn’t to play together. Definitely wanted to get away from each other,” Borawski said as Serrano laughed. “It turned out how it turned out and we’re still great pals and do everything together. If I have a question about a play I don’t know, I’ll ask him and vice versa. Honestly we weren’t probably thinking about it but it definitely benefited both of us in this situation.”

Particularly because adapting to new and challenging circumstances can be difficult. And for all six, they starred at the high school level. Now they are starting anew on the scout teams.

Instead of making plays on Saturdays, their tasks for this season are to help prepare their more experienced teammates for games while readying themselves for the future.

“They're developing and they’re learning how to practice, how to play. They’re making themselves better, not just making our offense and our defense better,” Stony Brook coach Billy Cosh said. “So a lot of these guys have good promise and they’re all good workers. They have a bright future for us, and a lot of times when you’re young — you have to be honest — this is part of the process. And I think it’s part of their processes, and it’ll be pretty good for us down the road.”

That does not mean, however, Cosh and his assistant coaches have not been able to see how a few members of the sextet react in game situations.

Entering Saturday’s game at Towson, Riggs, a sophomore, has played in all five games for the Seawolves (3-2).

As a freshman, Riggs played 11 games at linebacker, mostly on special teams and totaled two tackles.  During the summer, a decision was made to transition the 6-foot, 215-pounder to tight end, and the sophomore has one catch for 18 yards this season, along with racking up five tackles on special teams.

“It's going great,” he said. “[The offensive coaching staff] is actually from Long Island, so I have a good connection with them. And it’s been fun. They’ve been helping me along. They’ve been having extra meetings with me trying to learn the plays, and just putting me in positions where I can go make plays.”

Serrano, a redshirt sophomore, has dressed for three contests.

“The biggest thing is you haven’t proven anything when you get to college," Serrano said. "You’ve done all this good stuff in high school. All the accolades, you’ve got. It doesn’t really matter once you get to college. It’s a whole new page in a book.”

The remaining four have yet to play this season.

And yet, according to director of football operations Billy Barber, the duos from Elmont and West Babylon and Commack have improved.

“A big part of being on the scout team means that you’re going to spend more time in the weight room than some of the other guys. We’re able to work them out harder during the season because they don’t have to go out there and compete for us,” said Barber, who played 37 games in three full seasons with the Seawolves between 2017-19 as the team’s long snapper. “They’re growing tremendously in the weight room.”

Then there is the growth that comes from working with the veterans in practice on a daily basis.

“They are going against our best,” Barber said. “They are going against our ones every single day. And so, if you attack it the right way . . . you’re going to develop and become a good player down the road.”

Collins and Barnes echoed Barber.

“I’m going against guys like [defensive lineman] Sebastian Regis. You know what he did on Long Island (at East Islip High School). You know what he is doing now as an All-American [caliber player],” Collins said. “Going against guys like him — one of the best linemen in the conference — and especially [defensive end] Khalid Bueno, who’s leading the country right now in sacks and tackles for loss, I’m getting better.”

Added Barnes: “I see the progress. I guard guys like Seth Sweitzer and James Dely. Starting receivers. They help me get better.”

Being able to successfully develop players could benefit the program in myriad ways. Not the least of which is how the program is viewed by the Long Island high school football community.

There are 15 players on the 2026 Seawolves roster who played their high school football on Long Island.

Should Stony Brook prove it can turn good high school players into good college football players with regularity, perhaps the program can become a destination for Long Island’s premier prep football talent.

“Long Island is where it starts,” Cosh said. “Then you move from there, but it starts here. We can’t let a guy that’s a good player on the Island leave. That’s important to us.”

To that end, Cosh and Barber both said that they are receiving positive feedback from high school coaches in Nassau and Suffolk.

“I do think that coaches in the area want their kids to come play for us. They push them to do that,” Barber said. “The more we are able to get contributors out of players from the Island and prove that it is a very real, rational option not only for us but for them as well, I think it could become a really good relationship for us.”

In part, because Burbatsky is convinced there already is a bond in place with the Long Island contingent.

“The Long Island guys here definitely stick together,” Burbatsky said. “There’s a close connection there. We definitely lift each other up. Help each other. Someone might not know a play or might need help with something, and it definitely helps bring a culture to this team.”