STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Stony Brook University football head coach Chuck Priore has announced the signings of Eric Black, Rushawn Lawrence, and Jace Rodriguez on Wednesday's National Signing Day. All three student-athletes signed their National Letter of Intent (NLI) and are set to join the Seawolves' roster for the 2022 season.
 
Eric Black | Defensive Lineman | Rochester, N.Y.
Black is a 6-foot-4, defensive lineman from Rochester, N.Y. and joins the Seawolves as a transfer from Buffalo. Over the course of his collegiate career, Black recorded 36 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 9.0 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. In 2021, he appeared in 10 games for the Bulls and tallied 17 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks on the season. Black recorded a pair of sacks in the 2021 Camellia Bowl. He began his career at Buffalo as a walk-on who then earned a scholarship and developed into a starting defensive end. Before his collegiate career began, Black attended Rush-Henrietta for high school and was a member of the football team. While at Rush-Henrietta, he was a team captain, selected to the All-Greater Rochester team (2016), and named to the All-County team (2016).
 
Rushawn Lawrence | Defensive Lineman | Philadelphia, Pa.
Lawrence is a 6-foot-3, defensive lineman from Philadelphia, Pa. and comes to Stony Brook as a transfer from Lackawanna College after starting his collegiate career at UAlbany. Lawrence attended Monsignor Bonner for High School and played football for two years there. As a junior he recorded 12 sacks and as a senior he tallied five sacks in just three games played.
 
"The additions of Eric Black from Buffalo and Rushawn Lawrence from Lackawanna are certainly welcomed – they are here with us now for our spring semester. Eric brings a lot of playing experience to our defensive front. He is a real active pass rusher and we're expecting him to have an immediate impact within our program. Rushawn is a big bodied interior lineman, who is a physical player. He will be here and have the ability to compete for playing time in the spring," said coach Priore.  
 
Jace Rodriguez | Tight End | Los Alamitos, Calif.
Rodriguez is a 6-foot-5, tight end from Los Alamitos, Calif. and will join the Seawolves from Orange Lutheran High School. Rodriguez played football at Orange Lutheran and was a two-year varsity team captain. In high school, he played both sides of the ball and helped his team to a 10-5 record in 2021 as the team was ranked as high as seventh in the state. As a senior, this past season he found the end zone twice as he pulled in a pair of touchdown catches. In the classroom, Rodriguez was named to the High Honor Roll from 2019-2021.
 
"We are really excited about adding Jace Rodriguez to our incoming freshmen class. He comes from a great program in Southern California and certainly has the tools to help improve our tight end game both from a passing and blocking perspective," said coach Priore.
 

Name	Position	Hometown	High School / Prev. School
Eric Black*	DL	Rochester, N.Y.	Rush-Henrietta / Buffalo
Taylor Bolesta	DL	Dallas, Pa.	Dallas / LIU
De'Aundre Cruz	LB	Merizo, Guam	Father Duenas Memorial / College of San Mateo
Rah'Khem El	WR	Syracuse, N.Y.	East Syracuse Minoa
Anthony Ferrelli	LB	Carlsbad, Calif.	Carlsbad
Cashton Haffery	DB	Clarksville, Tenn.	Northeast / Moorpark
Rushawn Lawrence*	DL	Philadelphia, Pa.	Monsignor Bonner / Lackawanna
Sam Howson	OL	Sparta, N.J.	Pope John XXIII / Rutgers / LIU
Shamel Lazarus	DB	Queens, N.Y.	Erasmus Hall / UConn
Charlie McKee	QB	Oceanside, Long Island	Oceanside
Willensky Nicolas	DB	Brooklyn, N.Y.	James Madison
AJ Roberts	LB	Staten Island, N.Y.	Tottenville / Pittsburgh
Jace Rodriguez*	TE	Los Alamitos, Calif.	Orange Lutheran
Noah Rodriguez	DB	Milpitas, Calif.	Milpitas / College of San Mateo
Vincent Rotelli	DL	Commack, Long Island	Commack
Clayton Taylor	P	Melbourne, Australia	Haileybury College (Prokick Australia)
*Signed during February signing period

 
The Seawolves added a total of 16 student-athletes during the 2022 signing period. 13 of those student-athletes signed during the early signing period in December, while Black, Lawrence, and Rodriguez rounded out the class during the February period.
 
"The 2022 recruiting class really has two different groups to it. It has our incoming freshmen, which is a group of six that will be joining us in the fall and then it has a large group of mid-year transfers that are with us now. I am really excited about both aspects of it. With the guys here now, they will have a chance to train in our offseason program, participate in spring football, and should allow us to build our current roster. With the freshmen joining us in August, we will certainly welcome them and they will learn how to be college football players," said coach Priore.
 
Stony Brook added 11 student-athletes on defense, four on offense, and one on special teams. The class has a mix of transfers with prior collegiate experience and true freshmen who will begin their college careers on Long Island.
 
Black and Lawrence join an incoming defensive class that features Taylor Bolesta (defensive lineman, Dallas, Pa.), De'Aundre Cruz (linebacker, Merizo, Guam), Anthony Ferrelli (linebacker, Carlsbad, Calif.), Cashton Haffery (defensive back, Clarksville, Tenn.), Shamel Lazarus (defensive back, Queens, N.Y.), Willensky Nicolas (defensive back, Brooklyn, N.Y.), AJ Roberts (linebacker, Staten Island, N.Y.), Noah Rodriguez (defensive back, Milpitas, Calif.), and Vincent Rotelli (defensive lineman, Commack, Long Island).
 
Rodriguez was an offensive addition that is accompanied by Rah'Khem El (wide receiver, Syracuse, N.Y.), Sam Howson (offensive lineman, Sparta, N.J.), and Charlie McKee (quarterback, Oceanside, Long Island) in the 2022 class. Clayton Taylor (punter, Melbourne, Australia) was the lone specialist that the Seawolves signed.
 
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