Quartet of Athletes Commits To Harvard

St. John's Prep has become a recruiting hotbed for Harvard lately.

A state champion in football and lacrosse, Ryan Delisle has decided to bring his winning habits to Soldiers Field next fall. On Tuesday, the senior tight end and defensive end publicly confirmed a verbal commitment to play football for the Crimson next fall.

"Ryan was recruited by Boston College, Harvard, Brown, Georgetown, Virginia, [and others]," said Jim O'Leary, athletic director and head football coach. "He's one of our captains. He's well liked by everyone. He was in student government, [involved in] the whole school: he's one of those kinds of leaders...he's a very very good student and comes from a strong academic background."

In committing to the Crimson, Delisle joins three of his classmates who have already made plans to compete for Harvard: sailor John "Gram" Slattery, hockey player Colin Blackwell, and lacrosse player Matthew Scalise.

Slattery took 10th at the 2010 U.S. Sailing’s Chubb Junior Championships while racing with Brian Drumm for Eastern Yacht Club.

Scalise, meanwhile, while join older brother Mark on the Crimson lacrosse team. The brothers' father is Director of Athletics Bob Scalise. Last spring, the younger Scalise and Delisle helped St. John's Prep end Duxbury's run of six consecutive state championships in lacrosse.

While Blackwell will graduate with his classmates, he won't arrive in Cambridge until a year later.

"He'll go play juniors for a year," O'Leary said.

Back in October Blackwell chose Harvard over several top programs, including defending national champion Boston College.

"Calling [Eagles] Coach [Jerry] York was one of the toughest phone calls I've ever had to make," he told Phil Stacey of the Salem News. "It would have been unbelievable to play for him and for a school that's won two of the last three (NCAA) titles and also plays in the Beanpot. But any time I've ever been at Harvard, I've felt most comfortable there. It's the best fit for me."