STONY BROOK, N.Y. — High school teammates and longtime friends
Cole Bunicci and
Drew Guttieri simultaneously signed letters of intent last December to join the Stony Brook football team.
Now, the Connetquot High School products are going through their first college football fall together, still teammates and now roommates as well.
"We're in this together," said Bunicci, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound tight end with the Seawolves. "It's nice to have someone with you as you get started in a new chapter in your life."
Said the 6-1, 195-pound Guttieri: "We're always on the same page. We know each other's tendencies, and what we do and don't like. It's good to do something new with someone you already know."
As a senior at Connetquot, Guttieri earned the Boomer Esiason Award as Suffolk County's top quarterback after passing for 2,106 yards and 21 touchdowns. Bunicci was named the county's top receiver after tallying 864 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in 2019.
Both used the term "unorthodox" to describe their first college football fall.
The Seawolves, along with the rest of CAA Football and the bulk of programs throughout the country, postponed their seasons until the spring.
Stony Brook football student-athletes are working out in small pods inside Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.
Bunicci and Guttieri's group entirely is composed of freshmen. So the duo — and the rest of the newcomers in their pod — have not yet meshed with their upperclassmen teammates.
Their group recently advanced from workouts strictly designed to improve fitness to football instruction.
"It's definitely weird not being with the whole team," Guttieri said. "But we weren't here when everything was normal. It's all we're used to."
Said Bunicci: "It's a little unorthodox considering we're just with the freshmen. But it's obviously nice to get back out on the field for training again."
Bunicci will major in business management, while Guttieri has not yet declared his major. So the two — who have been teammates since PAL football as first-graders — are taking entirely different classes.
They did room together during their official visit to Stony Brook. But now they're side by side nearly 24/7.
Not that they're driving each other crazy.
"No, not yet," Bunicci quipped.
