PALM BEACH GARDENS – Austin Thompson and Brandon Proenza have finally found their college homes.
After what has been a relatively light recruiting process for the two Dwyer senior leaders, they had a joint signing ceremony at their high school on Monday morning (March 2). It’s clear that their on-field and off-field efforts have paid off.
They join fellow senior/defensive end Christian Lee (Alabama State) as the Panthers who will be playing college football on Saturdays beginning this fall.
Thompson, who was Dwyer’s No. 1 wide receiver throughout his senior season, chose to sign with Bentley. The No. 60 overall player in the 2020 class had other offers from the likes of Florida Tech and a host of Division III schools.
The 6-foot, 175-pound wideout announced his commitment on his Twitter account last week (Feb. 27).
“I felt like they would set me up for the best future out of all the colleges I looked at,” Thompson said.
Bentley is essentially getting a steal at wide receiver. Case in point: Thompson’s best game of the season came in Week 11 against Boca Raton, when he amassed six catches with 202 total yards (119 receiving; 83 on kick returns) and one touchdown.
In nine games, Thompson had 838 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged about 25 yards per catch.
“Austin is an All-American kid,” Dwyer head coach McKinley Rolle said. “He’s a willing blocker and he catches the ball pretty good. He’s deceptively fast. He has a high ceiling.”
As for Proenza, he announced his decision to go with Central Arkansas last Friday (Feb. 28) on his Twitter account.
“I love the campus and academics,” Proenza said. “It honestly feels like home. The coaches have been great. I’m looking forward to doing great things over there.”
Proenza, who was ranked as our No. 2 kicker/punter in Palm Beach County, had a stellar senior season at Dwyer. He converted on all 14 of his PAT’s (14–14) and 10 of his 11 field goal attempts (10-11 FG’s) in nine games played.
Proenza was selected to be the American Team kicker for the Palm Beach County All-Star Game this past December. And as it turns out, Rolle has been one of Proenza’s biggest advocates in this pivotal stage of his football career.
“Coach Rolle is very inspirational, dedicated and hard-working,” Proenza said. “He has made the Dwyer program a success.”
Proenza summed up his signing moment with Thompson at Monday’s event.
“It was a great experience signing with a teammate that I’ve been playing by his side for the past four years,” Proenza said. “He will 100 percent ball out at Bentley.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Dwyer High School/Dwyer High School Football
