On Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010, Quakertown senior Robert Basile signed an Ivy ‘likely letter’ to play football at Princeton University next year.
Rob Basile – Princeton University (Football)
Major: Pre-law Future plans: “I’m hoping to get into the Woodrow Wilson School, a school within Princeton for people who want to go into a life of service or into the government. My goal is to go into the FBI or CIA.
“I’m going there on an ROTC scholarship as well. That’s one of the things that drew me to Princeton – how much they support ROTC and how much the college as a whole supports people who want to serve their country.”
Final list of colleges: Princeton, Penn, West Point
Reasons for selecting Princeton: “It was a really tough choice. Penn has the best football team in the Ivy League right now, and it’s obviously a great school. West Point – I’ve always wanted to serve my country, so being at West Point almost seems like the obvious choice.
“It was really tough, but it came down to I got the best deal at Princeton. I felt that it was the best for me. The Woodrow Wilson School is right up my alley. The ROTC program at Princeton is one of the first ROTC programs ever, so I just got a great feel for the college, a great feel for the team. It was really tough, but now that I have made my choice, I can’t tell you how excited I am.”
When did the idea of playing college football become a reality? “I only started playing football in seventh grade. I didn’t come up through the youth club. Football instantly clicked. It was my favorite sport. I loved playing it in high school, and I never even thought of playing football in college until after my junior year when I started getting recruited a little bit.
“Once I realized it was a possibility, I was so incredibly excited. For me, it was always my education. I wanted to get a great education, so I thought of West Point and the Ivy League. When I realized I could get a great education but still play football, a sport that I love – I didn’t think it could get any better than that.
“It was always education first, and the fact that I can play football at the next level is just a testament to the program and to my peers. Guys like Tony Latronica pushed me, and I always tried to play at the level they played on, so this is a testament to them that I could play at a school like Princeton.”
Where do they project you will play? “I was recruited for linebacker, so I’m thinking with my speed maybe I’ll be more of an outside linebacker. I’ll play wherever they need me.”
How exciting is it to have an opportunity like this? “I’m in wrestling season right now, so that’s stressing me out a little bit. I’m looking forward so much to lifting for football. On days like this, it seems all the closer. I’m just speechless. I’m so happy.”
Coach John Donnelly says: “I’m amazed at how well he pulls off all the things that he does academically, athletically, and his involvement in school. He started the Best Buddies program here, and he’s involved in National Honor Society. He wears so many hats, and he wears them all so well. He does everything the right way.
“A friend of mine who teaches here said in his AP class how everyone in the class looks to Rob. He moves so well in all different circles socially at school, and everybody has the utmost respect for him. I think that’s one of the best compliments I could give to me – as good as he is as a football player, he matches that and exceeds that academically. From a personality standpoint, there’s nothing not to like about him.
“Statistically, he’s going to walk away from school here as the all-time leading tackler with 253 career tackles. He also has the single season record for tackles with 120 and the single season record for tackles with a loss – just major accomplishments in defensive categories. The thing that set him apart was just his ability to be a smart football player but on top of that be really a ball hog and just really aggressive, and he has a great motor. He plays with high energy all the time.
“The thing with Princeton is when he went on his visit the staff had been let go, and they were in the process of hiring a new staff, so he fell in love with Princeton more from an academic standpoint. Now they’re excited about the coaching staff they have there – the head coach is an alum who came from the Cincinnati Bengals. Robert is already talking about how this spring he’s going to go down to as many of the spring practices he can, so he already understands - ‘The more I get on campus before I actually enroll as a student, the better off I’m going to be.’ He wants to look into taking summer courses, so he gets ahead of the game.
“He’s mature, he understands the big picture, and he’s going to do extremely well in all facets.”
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