St. Anthony's Dante Antoine commits to play football at Stony Brook
Dante Antoine of St. Anthony's defends a pass intended for Gary Lewis of Delbarton during The Battle of the Bridge high school football game at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 14, 2019. Credit: George McNish
Little was normal about the college football recruiting landscape this past year. High school seniors and college coaches conferred on Zoom, and game film was hard to come by with little actual football being played in New York. But these hurdles didn’t prevent Dante Antoine from ending up exactly where he wanted to be.
Antoine, a senior defensive back at St. Anthony’s, committed to play for Stony Brook and will join the Seawolves in the fall of 2021. His final decision was for Stony Brook over Maine.
"It’s everything I could want: it’s Division I, they play good competition and I really like the coaches," Antoine said Monday. "I’ve followed what they do and how they play and I can’t wait to be a part of it."
Antoine, a 6-foot, 175-pounder from Brentwood, hopes to see action at either cornerback or safety. He was a captain for the Friars this past season when the Catholic High School Football League held 7-on-7 games without line play due to COVID-19 restrictions. Long Island public schools did not play football in the fall and hope to have a season in March.
"In a way I was lucky because I got to see the campus and meet the coaches in March right before all the COVID restrictions got put in place," Antoine said. "When I was there it felt like home. And really it is home because it’s Long Island. It felt right."
Antoine is on track to academically qualify for freshman participation.
"I know I am going to have to work really hard to get playing time – it has to be earned," he said. "Stony Brook recruits people from all over the country so nothing will come easy. I’m really looking forward to the next challenge."
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
