By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer

TURNER – Jonathan Pirruccello joined some pretty select company yesterday.

Pirruccello, a senior defensive end at Leavitt High School, was the only Mainer among 25 football players to commit to the University of Maine on Wednesday, the first day of the college signing period.

A star pass rusher for the Hornets the last two years, Pirruccello chose Maine over the University of New Hampshire and Bates College after impressing college scouts last summer. He said advice from his coaches and family led him to choose the state university.

“I like the coaches up there and the influence from (Leavitt assistant) coach (Dave) Bochtler and the family that’s gone there played a big part in it,” Pirruccello said. “Once they showed interest in me, it’s kind of where I knew I wanted to go.”

The 6-3, 215-pound Pirruccello is a three-sport star at Leavitt who plays first base/DH and bats cleanup for the baseball team and is currently the center on the basketball team. But it wasn’t until he had a heart-to-heart talk with Leavitt head coach Mike Hathaway at the end of his junior year that he gave serious thought about continuing to play football beyond high school.

He attended a number of camps and combines over the summer, impressing scouts at a Bridgewater State combine when he ran a 4.8 40 time and registered a 31-inch vertical leap. He was also named his team’s MVP at the Boston College football camp. After that, letters began pouring in from interested programs, particularly small schools.

Pirruccello visited UNH earlier and visited the Orono campus last Friday along with Jay quarterback Justin Wells and Bucksport Fitzpatrick Trophy winner Nick Tymoczko. He said he committed to Maine on Sunday night and was anxious to sign a National Letter of Intent and make it official yesterday.

“It was awesome. It felt so good to sign that thing and fax it up,” he said. “This has been on my mind since the end of my junior year.”

Pirruccello was a first-team all-PTC and a Sun Journal second-team all-state selection at defensive end after finishing third in the Pine Tree Conference with 92 tackles and eight quarterback sacks. He was a two-year starter on defense for Hathaway, mostly at defensive end, although injuries forced him to fill in at middle linebacker for four games this year.

“Some coaches at the (PTC) all-star meeting said they’d vote him in at middle linebacker if he wasn’t an all-star on the line,” Hathaway said.

Pirruccello collected 20 sacks in his two years as a starter. Along with classmate Ryane Staples, who has committed orally to another Division I-AA school, Colgate, he formed one of the most fearsome defensive tandems in Class B.

“You look beyond the sacks,” Hathaway said. “If you look at the amount of times he pressured the quarterback, it’s almost like a shot-blocker in basketball changing shots. He changed so many passes.”

Pirruccello said he was surprised to be the only one from Maine to commit to the Black Bears on opening day, though others may follow suit.

“It doesn’t matter, as long as they have the right kids to go up there and win some games,” he said.

The signing period for football ends April 1.

This year’s class, one of the largest for the school in recent years, includes five defensive linemen besides Pirruccello, three offensive linemen, five defensive backs, three linebackers, three wide receivers, two tailbacks, one quarterback, a fullback and one kicker/punter.

“We are very excited about this year’s group of signees,” coach Jack Cosgrove said in a press release from the university. “The staff did a great job of identifying and recruiting these young men.”

Pirruccello wasn’t the only Maine product to sign with a I-AA program for next season. Former Brunswick star fullback and 2003 Sun Journal Player of the Year Phillip Warren has enrolled at the University of Buffalo.

All National Letter of Intent signings are contingent upon admission to the university and compliance with NCAA rules, including registration with the NCAA Clearinghouse. Additional NLIs may be received later in the signing period.