Cheers, cheers and more cheers for Ocean County high school football.
Three former standouts – that’s right, an amazing three – have earned chances at landing berths on National Football League teams.
Gesicki should have no trouble learning the Dolphins’ blocking scheme. He was an Academic All-Big Ten selection for the second time as a junior.
Gesicki will command NFL millions. His agent is Patrick Collins of the Creative Artists Agency out of the Greater Nashville, Tn., area.
Cheer also for Mike Basile and Tyrice Beverette.
Basile, who starred at Brick Memorial and Monmouth University, wound up with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent after ravaging offenses as a defensive back with the Hawks. He is on the Colts’ premises as a mini camp invitee.
Beverette, who excelled at Lakewood and Stony Brook University, will participate in the New York Jets’ post draft rookie mini camp. He is in camp as an undrafted free agent as a defensive back. The camp will take place the weekend of May 4-7.
Basile and Beverette saw their prospects of winding up as NFL players soar Saturday, April 28 when they were called and informed of their destinations by the executives of their prospective new teams.
Brick’s Mike Basile
“It’s a great opportunity for me,” said Basile, a senior and a business administration major. “I was going into the day not expecting much. You obviously want to get drafted, but everything will work out and I am just grateful for the opportunity. The Colts were one of the teams that showed a lot of interest in me right from the start. I feel with the safety position I play Indianapolis is one of the better chances for me to go in and make a team.”
Basile, one of the Hawks’ captains, worked out in front of 21 NFL scouts from 18 league teams at Monmouth Football’s Pro Day at the Compete Academy in Neptune prior to the 2018 NFL Draft. He was joined by four Monmouth seniors and one ex-Hawk. Scouts from all 32 teams attended the Hawks’ practices and games last fall.
They went through traditional NFL Combine metric tests along with positional drills. Basile earned a 5,04 prospect grade and flashed 4.69 speed in the 40-yard dash.
“I think I had a good day out there,” Basile said. “I talked to a bunch of teams afterwards and got a lot of positive feedback so I was pretty happy with the way things went.”
Basile, a 6-foot-1, 200-pounder, put up some of the best times for his position at a number of speed drills.
“The scouts were pretty impressed with the numbers I put up in those three-cone and shuttle,” he said.
Not much got past the former Mustang.
Basile will graduate as the most decorated player in Monmouth history, earning consensus All-American honors as a junior and senior.
He set the Monmouth record for career tackles with 433 last fall and finished as a four-time first-team All-Big South Conference selection, setting the conference record for solo stops with 285. The 2017 Big South Co-Defensive Player of the Year was named to the FCS ADA All-America Team earning the distinction of the top defensive back in the FCS.
He also became the first Hawk to earn First-Team All-American honors from the Associated Press and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. The safety added 22 passes defended, eight interceptions, seven sacks and six blocked kicks for coach Kevin Callahan.
Basile played safety and running back at Brick Memorial under coach Walt Currie. Basile helped the Mustangs to the NJSIAA playoffs in each of his three varsity seasons, including 2013 when they were 6-4. He made 18 tackles in their Central Jersey Group IV playoff game against Manalapan.
Basile notched 88 tackles, broke up 10 passes, forced one fumble and recovered three fumbles as a Brick Memorial senior. He added 540 rushing yards and 184 receiving yards as a senior with the Mustangs.
He also starred as a junior, putting 82 tackles, 4 1/2 sacks and four forced fumbles into the book. He added 612 yards on 54 carries and 510 receiving yards. He scored 15 total touchdowns.
Basile won three varsity letters in boys basketball for the Mustangs.
Lakewood’s Tyrice Beverette
Beverette competed at Monmouth Football’s Pro Day.
He sped to two 4.58 clockings in the 40-yard dash. He put up a 2.60 in the 20 dash and a 1.56 in the 10 dash. His vertical jump was 36 1/2. He went 10-2 in the broad jump.
Beverette, a senior, finished his four-year career with 262 stops, including 27 1/2 tackles for yards lost. He paced the Seawolves in total tackles with 96 last fall and was named Stony Brook’s Most Valuable Defensive Player.
He was one of four players chosen by teammates to captain the team in 2017. He was a second-team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection.
The Seawolves were named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division I Football Championship Subdivision Team of the Year in 2017. They were honored at the 82nd Eastern College Football Awards Banquet at MetLife Stadium, the home of the Jets and the New York Giants, in East Rutherford.
They tied their single-season wins record at 10-3. They were 7-1 in the CAA for their best conference record in history. They finished second to James Madison University.
As a junior, the former Piner started all 11 games at rover. He notched a team-high 98 tackles, including nine tackles for yards lost, 4 1/2 sacks, four interceptions and four forced fumbles. He was a second-team All-CAA selection.
As a sophomore, Beverette played in and started eight games and was named third-team All-CAA. His 47 tackles tied for third on the team and his 28 solo stops were second on the club. He had 3 1/2 tackles for yards lost, 1 1/2 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
As a freshman, he notched 21 tackles, including 4 1/2 tackles for yards lost, and three sacks. He added one interception and forced one fumble.
He is a 6-foot, 210-pounder.
Beverette was an all-timer’s all-timer at Lakewood where he starred at defensive back and quarterback for coach L.J. Clark and in basketball under coach Randy Holmes.
Beverette notched 71 tackles, two pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles during his senior season. He totaled 1,532 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior, helping the Piners to their first playoff berth in 10 years.
He scored more than 1,000 career varsity points in basketball for the Piners.
Beverette could not be reached for comment.
Editor’s Note: monmouth.edu and stonybrook.edu contributed to this report.
