Avon's Jeremiah Kelly, Avon Lake's Luke Stuewe sign letters of intent to play Division I college football

Wednesday was the day dreams were realized when a pair of local recruits signed their national letters of intent to play Division I college football. At Avon, offensive lineman Jeremiah Kelly kicked off the early signing period by sign with the University of Cincinnati. Later in the day, Avon Lake wide receiver/safety Luke Stuewe signed with Virginia Tech. Stuewe comes from a family of football players. His father, Michael, was a wide receiver at Virginia Tech from 1994-98, while his brothers Matthew and Michael Jr. graduated from Avon Lake and went on to play at Ohio University and Case Western Reserve. "My whole life I've looked up to my older brothers. They have always just been bigger than me and better in everything than me, so it gave me something to push for to be like them," Luke Stuewe said. "It was a goal to be like my brothers. They've always been there for me." Despite missing the second half of his junior year with a broken collarbone, he still managed to earn All-Ohio honors in 2023 and receive multiple Division I offers. "Despite the injuries, Luke has shown what he can do," Avon Lake coach Matt Kostelnik said. "He has a great nose for the football and his ability go up and catch the ball has been really impressive." Though he missed multiple games with injuries again as a senior this season, Stuewe led the Shoremen with three interceptions and was third on the team in receptions. He got his first taste of varsity football late during his freshman year and quickly learned what it would take to get himself ready for success. "Freshman year, I dressed varsity for the playoffs and on Wednesday they told me they were going to put me on kick returns. It was a real eye-opener for me," Stuewe said. "I was the little dude on varsity and I knew I couldn't be that next year and I had to come back faster and stronger." Kelly's signing ceremony was somewhat overshadowed by the fact the he and his Avon teammates spent this week getting ready for the biggest game of their careers tonight in the Division II state championship game against Cincinnati Anderson. "It's a great honor to get recruiting and I am excited to start my new journey in football at Cincinnati," Kelly said. "It was nice seeing all of my teammates and friends come out to acknowledge me but my main focus right now is winning a state championship for Avon." Kelly won the Lombardi Award as the most valuable offensive lineman in Lorain County. He is also a weapon on defense. "Anyone who watches film closely knows he's a dominating force on the offensive line and, when he plays defensive line, he's an immovable object," Avon coach Mike Elder said. "Having guys like that makes our jobs as coaches a lot easier." During the signing ceremony, Elder read a statement from Kelly's position coaches — Jim Mulgrew and Bill Fishleigh — about his work off the field. "Jeremiah Kelly was consistent with his approach to getting better in the offseason and in-season," Mulgrew said. "He's blessed with great physical traits but what makes him special is his pursuit to getting better and asking questions. Coach Fishleigh and I always talk about how awesome it is that one of our best players is also one of our hardest workers. He's a big-picture type player who makes it more than just about him." Kelly will graduate early so he can head to Cincinnati to begin work on his football career and a degree in psychology. "My goal was always to play as quickly as possible and the best way to do that is graduating early so I can be down there for spring ball," Kelly said. "It will also help me academically. I'll eventually have an opportunity to work on my masters earlier, seeing I'll be starting a semester early. "I'm going to miss some parts of high school but I feel like going down early was the best decision I could make." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.