Lancaster Catholic rising senior interior lineman Keegan Sheedy on Sunday committed to play football for Villanova University, which offered a full athletic scholarship to the Crusaders' trenchman.
Sheedy, a sturdy 6-4, 270-pounder, announced his decision via social media.
Committed to play at the university of Villanova!
— Keegan Sheedy (@Ksheedz) June 22, 2014"I've been thinking about this a lot," said Sheedy, who also had offers from Holy Cross and Lafayette. "And the more I thought about it, the more I knew Villanova was the place I wanted to be."
Sheedy made a visit to Villanova just last week, and he visited Holy Cross the week before that.
At the end of the day, he chose coach Andy Talley the Wildcats, who play in the Colonial Athletic Association.
"It was a process that went a couple of days," Sheedy told PennLive. "There wasn't that one moment when it just struck me. I ended up picking Villanova because of its coaching staff, because of its success in the NCAA and because its a great academic school."
Sheedy, who said he'll likely pursue a business degree at Villanova, was an L-L League Section 1 first-team all-star pick at offensive tackle, and he was an honorable mention all-star pick at defensive tackle last fall for the Crusaders, who went 5-2 in Section 1 and 6-6 overall, after falling to Cocalico in the second round of the District 3-AAA playoffs.
Sheedy said the staff at Villanova told him he'll likely play offensive tackle at the next level, but he could also play some offensive guard.
He plays right offensive tackle for coach Bruce Harbach and Lancaster Catholic. Sheedy will switch from d-tackle to defensive end for the Crusaders this coming season, under new d-coordinator Gerad Novak, Conestoga Valley's former head coach.
Former Conestoga Valley, Wilson and Cedar Cliff coach Jim Cantafio is Lancaster Catholic's new offensive coordinator under Harbach.
"I'm excited for college," Sheedy said. "I'm excited about getting there and working hard. I'm not looking forward to starting at the bottom, but you have to work your way up. And of course I'm looking forward to this last season in high school."
Former Lancaster Catholic offensive lineman Ross Hall will be a fifth-year senior for Villanova this coming season.
Meanwhile, Sheedy will be one of three returning offensive linemen for Lancaster Catholic, joining center Noah Thomas and guard Skylar Bender. That trio will help break in a couple of new starters in July, when the Crusaders head to Millersville team camp.
"I love the location," Sheedy said of Villanova, situated on the main line, just outside of Philadelphia. "You're right outside a great major city, but you're not right in the city, so you have those perks. And it's just close enough to home. If you want to go home for the weekend, you can just jump on a train."
It was a big day for Villanova on Sunday.
Shortly before Sheedy made his verbal, West Chester Henderson defensive lineman Bryan White announced that he too would be heading to Villanova.