BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — Bridgeport senior standouts Dante Bonamico and Elijah Drummond both accepted preferred walk-on opportunities over the past week with the Mountaineer football team, joining teammate Dylan Tonkery who accepted a scholarship offer last year from WVU.
Bonamico had D-II interest from Mountain East programs, including Glenville State, Fairmont State, West Virginia Wesleyan and West Virginia State – along with potential baseball opportunities as well. But the chance to play football for the Mountaineers was what he ultimately decided upon.
“I just had my mindset on day one for West Virginia,” Bonamico said. “It’s been a dream of mine to play there.”
Bonamico, 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, finished this past season with 26 rushing touchdowns and 1,395 rushing yards on 145 carries (9.6 yards per carry). He also caught five passes for 148 yards (29.6 per carry) and three more touchdowns as the Indians won a third straight Class AA championship.
He also established himself as one of the best defensive backs in the state, ending the year with 65 total tackles out of the safety position – that’s where he’s anticipated to play at the college level.
“It will definitely be on the defensive side of the ball,” Bonamico said. “Weightlifting is the biggest (thing I’ll be working on) for right now. Speed and agility comes up right next to that. Just staying in the weight-room, keeping my body right and eating right – doing all the necessary things to play at this level. That starts in the weight room for me.
“Once you get there, it’s who can play and who can’t,” he continued. “It comes down to on the field if you can take care of the job or not and that’s going to be my mindset from day one – just doing what I can to make an impact and better myself everyday.”
Drummond, 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, excelled at linebacker and running back for the Indians, finishing second on the team with 72 total tackles. He also collected 37 carries on the year for 323 yards (8.7 per carry) and defensively returned an interception for a touchdown in the semifinals of the playoffs.
“It’s was a surreal feeling,” Drummond said of Bridgeport’s three straight Class AA championships. “Most people are lucky to play in one state championship and I’ve been lucky enough to play in three football championships and two baseball championships.”
Drummond received the walk-on invite over the weekend and quickly jumped on the opportunity.
“I got the offer on Saturday morning and it was probably an hour later that I accepted,” he said. “There had been a lot of other schools coming in with opportunities, Division II and a couple of Division III, but once West Virginia came, there’s no place I would rather be.
“I’ve been dreaming about being a Mountaineer since I was 3 years old,” Drummond continued. “My family has had season tickets forever and I’ve always been a Mountaineer. There is no place I would rather play. I think I would be a good fit at fullback, being a good blocker and coming out of the backfield catching some passes.”
It will be a unique experience for Drummond, Bonamico and Tonkery all coming to WVU to play football at their home state school together, just up the road.
“It’s definitely something special,” Drummond said. “The first person I called was Coach (Josh) Nicewarner. But the next two people were Dante (Bonamico) and Dylan (Tonkery). They were so excited and it’s an amazing feeling getting to continue playing football with those two. We’ve been playing together since flag football.”
The interview with Bonamico is posted at the top of the page, with Drummond’s interview below.