Back in September, the weekend of the 11th to be exact, athlete Jonathan Crucitti made his official visit to Army, where he was courted by the coaching staff from both football and baseball. As reported at that time by GBK.com regarding Crucitti's weekend at Army, "it enhanced his interest in the Black Knights and may have put Army over the top against its biggest competition for Crucitti, which was coming from Stanford."

However, there were three important and missing factors that the 5-foot-11, 190 prospect needed to have part of the equation before he reached any final decision; The first two would be his mother and father, and the third being the interest that Stanford has in his talents and vice versa. During his official visit to Army, Crucitti made the trip by himself, and although he came away extremely excited, for any decision, he would need signoff from his parents and they was not going to happen, sight unseen.

That was then and this is now, and it may only be 24 hours after leaving West Point on his first unofficial visit, but it appears that the talented prospect out of Mount Ulla (N.C.) West Rowan High School is just one step away from becoming a Black Knight.

On Saturday, Crucitti and his mother experienced a Black Knights' weekend, up-close and personal. However, his dad was unable to make the trip this weekend, due to his work schedule, but according to Crucitti, his mother was overwhelmed with the visit from the beginning.

Although many of the Army coaches were on the road recruiting due to the bye week, including Coach Ellerson, it was an opportune time for the Crucitti's to make the trip north. Crucitti himself had a bye week, and although his dad was unable to attend, the weekend was both insightful and productive, especially from Crucitti's mother.

"It went great … this was a time to take her around, have her understand the West Point experience and have her meet with the coaches, but also for me to meet with the coaches to give them an update on where I stand," shared Crucitti, as he begins to describe his Saturday visit on the campus of West Point.

"Saturday morning we met with coach McKeehan and he took us around all the football facilities. He really gave us a good behind the scenes look at everything. Then we sat down with him and my mom asked her questions … but she was sold on it as soon as we stepped on campus {Crucitti laughing}.

He (Coach McKeehan) talked about where I stood with the football team. He stated that their approach is recruiting athletes and that I would fit in what they are looking to accomplish."

In addition the football aspect of the trip, the dual sport prospect and his mother also had lunch in the cadet restaurant with Head Baseball Coach, Joe Sottolano and staff, who were open to field (no pun intended) any question from Crucitti's mother. "He wanted to know if she had any additional questions," states Crucitti. "Since this was the first time that she had a chance to speak with any of the coaches from either program, all the meetings were helpful. She had a chance to see who the folks are running the programs and she feels a lot better coming away from the weekend.

On the football front, Crucitti said that he walked away having a better understanding of what they would try to do with him, where they would try and play him … and what they would expect from him as a player.

CLOSE TO A DECISION?

Without a doubt, Army leads for his services and right now the talented athlete like all serious prospects for Army … he must complete the application process. The proverbial feeling from the Crucitti camp is that he will pull the trigger and become an Army commit once he completes the next steps in the application process, which is to receive his congressional appointment and complete his physical evaluation.

GoBlackKnights.com will continue to stay in touch with Crucitti throughout his recruiting process.


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