LAURINBURG — Scotland High School defensive end Jason Romero Jr. has committed to play football at East Carolina University.
The rising senior announced his decision Monday night on Twitter. Romero, who is listed as a three-star recruit by 247 Sports, was previously committed to Duke before he reopened his recruitment last fall.
Romero has received interest from a long list of NCAA Division I programs, including North Carolina State, South Carolina, Wake Forest and Coastal Carolina. Romero said several schools were interested in him as a tight end or linebacker.
Romero said he developed strong relationships with the coaches and players at ECU during his recruitment process, and that was a big factor in his decision.
Last year, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound lineman tallied 37 solo tackles, six sacks and six tackles for loss in an injury-shortened season. Romero suffered a neck injury during Scotland’s rivalry matchup at Richmond, the penultimate game of the Fighting Scots’ regular-season schedule. The setback cost Romero the rest of his season, and he watched from the sidelines as Scotland pushed forward to a second-place finish in the 4A state championship game.
Three other players from North Carolina high schools had have already committed to ECU’s 2020 recruiting class as of Monday: Page cornerback C.J. Crump, West Brunswick defensive tackle J’vian McCray and Southwest Edgecombe offensive lineman Jaquaez Powell.
Now that his decision is made, Romero is glad that he can focus on his final season with the Scots.
“When I committed, I felt a whole lot of weight come off my chest,” Romero said. “Now I can just ball out, leave in December and go straight to college.”
