Belmont Hill '25 DE Tommy Rupley Tells EA Why He Chose Duke Over BC

BC fans got some tough news to start their Memorial Day weekend as local defensive end and 3-star recruit Tommy Rupley of Belmont Hill announced his commitment to Duke.

Rupley had 14 offers including BC, Northwestern, Penn State, Duke and Virginia, which was his final grouping before making the decision.

Rupley's mom played tennis at BC and he had been at numerous spring practices under both Coach Hafley and O'Brien, but the opportunity to create his own path was something he couldn't really pass up.

Following the announcement with Rivals, I spoke with Rupley to find out why exactly he chose the Blue Devils instead of BC.

"They were definitely in there until the end," he said. "When Coach O'Brien came to BC it got me very excited. It wasn't the same with Hafley, but when Coach O'Brien came I was really thinking about it hard, really hard. I just wanted to try something new and kind of branch out and create my own legacy.

"That's not a knock on Hafley he's a great coach, I just didn't feel the same level of need there when he was there compared to when Bill O'Brien came on board. O'Brien made me really feel like a priority and the whole staff did a great job, which is why it was hard to say no."