DiLorenzo No. 3 On SC’s Top 10 Plays
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DiLorenzo Lands on SC's Top 10 Plays
By CODY TOMER
Sports Writer
WHEELING -- As the late Sportscenter broadcaster Stuart Scott would have said, "Linsly's Luca DiLorenzo is as cool as the other side of the pillow."
If he would have seen DiLorenzo's latest play, he would have followed that up with a "Boo-Yeah!"
The soon-to-be senior football standout at Linsly took part in a football camp at the University of Kentucky on Tuesday, where he lined up one-on-one from his defensive back spot against a receiver.
As the two went toe-to-toe with the ball in the air, DiLorenzo went airborne and pulled down an Odell Beckham Jr.-like one-handed interception before falling to the ground.
This outstanding play was caught on camera and sent to Sportscenter, where it earned the No. 3 spot on Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays.
DiLorenzo was stunned to see himself in the spotlight as his talent was shown nation-wide.
"It's crazy!" DiLorenzo said. "I had to do a double-take to make sure that was me. My uncle Matt taped it and sent it to Sportscenter and I'm not going to lie, I watched it again as soon as I woke up (Wednesday)."
DiLorenzo has been learning a lot about the defensive back position at college camps and he was wanting to show the coaches at Kentucky that he could take what they were showing him and mix it with his athletic ability. The result can be seen on Sportscenter.
"We were done doing drills and moved on to the one-on-one part of the camp," DiLorenzo said. "It was my second time up and he threw a deep ball. I went up and tried to grab it or just swat it and I came down with it. On the outside I didn't have much of an expression but on the inside I thought, 'There is no way I just caught that.' There were some different reactions from everybody but some guys were just like, 'What just happened?'
"A lot of the UK coaches were there and they taught us certain techniques and I tried to do what they were teaching me and tried to use my athleticism to show out a little bit."
DiLorenzo is the second athlete from the OVAC to be featured on Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays since March, the other being Cameron freshman Maci Neely who hit the buzzer-beating shot to lift the Dragons to the West Virginia Class A Girls State Basketball Championship.
DiLorenzo is currently on a trip that takes him from Western Kentucky, to the University of Kentucky, to Eastern Kentucky today. He's already visited camps at California University of Pa., West Virginia University and Robert Morris. On the list for the upcoming summer include stops at Kent State, Ohio University and Ohio State University.
"I'm glad I came down to UK," DiLorenzo said. "I've always looked at Kentucky as a school period but it's great to come to camps in general so coaches can get a glimpse of me and then things like this (Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays) happen and that gets more coaches to look at me.
"I also like talking to a lot of the other kids at camps and players who go to the colleges. Hopefully I can take what they have all taught me and put it all together and play lock-down defense in a game."
DiLorenzo has also chatted and worked with Linsly graduate and current Dallas Cowboys' defensive back C.J. Goodwin.
"C.J. and I talk a lot and do some workouts when he comes home," DiLorenzo said. "We stay pretty close."
Goodwin has made his name on the Cowboys' special teams in recent years and stepped up to make several key plays in Super Bowl LI as a member of the Atlanta Falcons.
DiLorenzo is hoping to follow in those footsteps and represent his hometown of Wheeling, West Virginia.
"I'm just looking to make it as far as I can to show everyone I can do it no matter what," DiLorenzo said. "Sometimes coming from Wheeling, W.Va. you might get overlooked. I want to help put it on the map a little bit."
He is off to a great start in doing just that.