Manatee High quarterback A.J. Colagiovanni makes college decision

Three Manatee County high school football players have made noteworthy moves.

Manatee High quarterback A.J. Colagiovanni announced his commitment to Stetson on Wednesday via Twitter.

He polished off his senior season with 2,384 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and 255 rushing yards this past fall.

Colagiovanni’s commitment to the Hatters could result in another Manatee County football commitment for the DeLand school.

“The network they have for putting their students in the job world and the coaching staff, every one of them was great and their education is amazing,” said Colagiovanni, who is vacationing in Europe, in a text message.

National signing day for football is Feb. 1.

Linebacker Garrett Ware has two Football Championship Subdivision offers. Stetson and Valparaiso, which is in Indiana, have offered Ware, who told the Herald earlier this week that he’s excited about possibly playing with Colagiovanni in college.

“Garrett is a close friend of mine and (I) love playing ball with him,” said Colagiovanni, who threw for 5,401 yards and 53 touchdowns in his Manatee career. “We push each other, and both share our goal of playing at the collegiate level. Wherever he goes, I’m going to be super happy for him. We started this journey together, and hopefully will be able to play out our dreams together.”

Colagiovanni said he’s a 100-percent hard commit to Stetson, which means his college recruitment is over, and he’ll sign with the Hatters in February.

“Super relieved,” Colagiovanni said. “It’s been a roller coaster process for me, and I’m ecstatic that I’ve found my school.”

Braden River High running back/receiver Deshaun Fenwick received another SEC offer on Wednesday. Just a few weeks ago, the junior didn’t have any college football offers. Then Ohio pitched him one. Last Saturday, he picked up his second offer and first from the SEC when Mississippi offered. On Wednesday, Missouri offered Fenwick.

“It was my last day in Florida (Wednesday),” said Fenwick, who is heading home to Louisville for the holiday break. “So I couldn’t work out after school. I informed coach (Curt) Bradley and he informed me that I got an offer from Mizzou.”

Mizzou’s offer continues a domino effect for Fenwick, who produced 15 total touchdowns and more than 1,250 total yards.

“For some reason, I just keep getting more and more excited about the next one and the next one,” Fenwick said. “It makes me want to work a little bit harder.”

Braden River’s Matthew Haftke didn’t make his college choice known or pick up an offer on Wednesday. Rather, he’s in Dallas for one of the annual Blue-Grey All-American Bowl games for high school football players.

The linebacker recorded 47 tackles (five for a loss), two sacks, forced a fumble and recorded his only interception of his career as a senior in the fall.

Haftke is one of nine linebackers chosen to represent the East team against the West team at AT&T Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys play, on Thursday.

This story was originally published December 21, 2016 at 2:37 PM with the headline "Manatee High quarterback A.J. Colagiovanni makes college decision."