Dominique Easley became a folk hero for all New York City football players Thursday night, as he was the first local product to go in the first round of the NFL Draft in 28 years.
The Florida defensive tackle, from Staten Island, who was taken 29th overall by the Patriots despite missing all but three games of his senior season after suffering a torn right ACL and meniscus, was the talk of the area’s football community on Friday.
“He’s a poster boy for our kids,” DeWitt Clinton High School football coach Howard Langley said.
Easley, an All-American at Curtis High and second-ranked prospect in the country, began a run of highly recruited players from the area that showed college coaches there is talent within the five boroughs, a phenomenon dubbed “The Easley Factor.”
“It made a big statement about New York City football and where we’re headed,” Curtis coach Pete Gambardella said.
Easley celebrated in Manhattan on Thursday night, but he didn’t overdo it. On Friday, he paid a visit to Curtis — his old stomping grounds — where he met with students and members of the football team and addressed the school in an assembly, stressing the importance of school and never cutting corners.
“That’s Dominique, that’s his personality,” Gambardella said. “He told the kids, ‘Never forget where you come from.’ … The kids really responded to him and listened to every word he had to say.”
In high school, James Timmins — Easley’s running mate on both lines who just finished a sterling career at the University of Rhode Island — said everyone predicted he would make the NFL. Easley, however, never talked about it, cracking jokes when the subject was brought up.
“What got him there was he didn’t talk about it,” Timmins said. “He was just living in the moment.
“It’s not going to hit me until I see him playing on Sundays. It’s insane, seeing him on TV, seeing his name, seeing Curtis High School.”
“I’m like, ‘OK, now I don’t feel so bad,’ ” Langley joked. “I remember talking to our kids. They were disheartened. I said, ‘That kid right there is going to be a pro. You’re not going to see it until later.’ After last night, they can feel proud they played against someone who made it to the NFL.”
Poly Prep defensive tackle Jay Hayes, a Notre Dame signee, said he looked up to Easley when he began playing high school football. That feeling was multiplied several times over Thursday night.
“It’s an inspiration,” Hayes said. “That’s the true definition of perseverance, especially coming out of New York City and coming out of a public school.”
The city’s future on the gridiron is bright. Two other locals — The Bronx’s Caraun Reid of Princeton and Queens’ Jay Bromley of Syracuse — are expected to be selected in the top five rounds of the draft. Moreover, the city is sending a handful of top prospects to the next level next year, notably All-Americans Thomas Holley (Florida) of Lincoln, Curtis Samuel (Ohio State) of Erasmus Hall and Hayes.
Hayes and Holley attended the draft and vowed to be in Easley’s position one day.
“One of us is going to do it,” Hayes promised. “It’s possible. It can happen.”