Decided to Fly: Ben Petrula

Decided to Fly: Ben Petrula

By Quinn Kelly

 

Ben Petrula

From: Freehold, NJ

High School: St Peter’s Prep

Position: OL

Ht/Wt: 6’6” 320

Twitter: @BenPetrula

Ratings:

ESPN Rating: 79, 3 star

247 Rating: 91, 4 star

Rivals Rating: 3 star

Highlight Tape:

High School Stats:

Obviously it’s very hard to give statistics for an offensive lineman that mean anything to an eye not trained in scouting.  So, what’s important to note here is that Petrula anchored an O-Line for a St. Peter’s offense that gained nearly 3,000 yards on the ground this past year.  Of further note is that he attended the same high school as Jon Hilliman, though he was never a full-time starter while Hilliman was there.

Addazio’s Take:

“Ben Petrula, offensive line from St. Peter’s Prep … A highly-regarded, rated player, who is big and physical … He’s a four-year starter at St. Peter’s and has played against elite competition. This guy is a mountain of a guy and he’s a heck of a player. He’s an elite guy coming in here … we have very, very high expectations on him.”

Petrula on Commitment:

“I chose BC because of the high level of education I can receive there, as well as the high level of football I can play there.  And Coach Frye, Coach Camp [Campanile], and Coach Addazio did a great job recruiting me.  We built relationships for three years almost and I’ve loved BC since the moment I got there at camp my sophomore year.  There’s no place I’d rather be and it felt like home to me as soon as I got there.  I can’t wait to get up there for my next four to five years and go Eagles!”

Our Take:

Petrula is another guy who could come in and immediately start.  Addazio has talked about BC returning to its former glory as “O-Line U.”  Ben Petrula seems like a damn good place to start building back that reputation on.  Petrula has great experience, coming out of one of the best conferences in the country for high school football.  He’s squared off against some top-tier players, including Drew Singleton and Corey Bolds, 2017 Michigan and Penn State recruits respectively, as well as 2016’s number one overall prospect and Michigan man Rashan Gary; and he’s fared pretty well against all of them.

This kid is just massive.  BC has him at 6’5” 300, but pretty much every recruiting site lists him at 6’6” 320.  That, folks, is a beast of a specimen.  And believe me, plenty of schools took notice.  Petrula picked the Eagles over nine other offers, including UNC, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.  He had also drawn the attention of Penn State and Ohio State and could have seen an offer from either of them on the horizon.

If all goes to plan for the Eagles, Petrula will be opening up the A-gap for Hilliman and fellow freshman AJ Dillon this coming fall.