Trinity High School All Star Billy Phillipy Signs With University of Albany FCS Football - UAlbany Sports

"(Billy Phillipy) turned down a preferred walk-on invitation at Penn State to pursue his two-sport dream at Albany."

THE DETAILS: Trinity's outstanding tight end and defensive end has committed to Albany, where he'll play on the offensive side of the ball for the Great Danes.

THE SCHOOL: The University of Albany, is part of the sprawling State University of New York and has 12,500 undergraduates studying in New York's state capital. UAlbany athletic teams compete in the America East Conference, except for football, which competes in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) Northeast Conference.

THE DECISION: "Albany was a better fit for me [than Monmouth, Stony Brook or Villanova]," Phillipy said. "I'm going to throw the javelin, too, and Albany is giving me that opportunity."

THE ATHLETE: Phillipy was known primarily as a strong defensive end who could both rush the passer and provide good run tackling. But this year, he blossomed as a pass-catching tight end and did so well he scored an Associated Press first-team spot as a tight end. He was recruited primarily for offense, and he turned down a preferred walk-on invitation at Penn State to pursue his two-sport dream at Albany.

THEY'RE SAYING: "He's a tremendous athlete," Trinity head coach Jeff Boger said. "He was focused almost solely on defense for most of his time here, but last year [the 2007 season] he caught two touchdown passes in our game with Boiling Springs. That's when the light went on about what he could do at tight end."

Courtesy: PennLive.com