Stud JUCO Defensive End Becomes Commitment Number 9

It had appeared that all it was going to take to secure the commitment of Fullerton Community College defensive end Joel Bonomolo was a trip to the Plains. That occurred Saturday when Bonomolo made an official visit. Soon after, he committed to the Tigers.

Bonomolo is originally from Rummel High School in New Orleans, Louisiana but has been playing at Fullerton CC in Fullerton, CA alongside fellow recruit John Cullen. Bonomolo often said that if LSU had offered him, they would jump to the front of his list but he had backed off that statement more recently. He stated that LSU would be too close to home but he still wanted to play in the SEC, making Auburn the perfect choice.

The 6'3", 245 lb. strongside defensive end is clocked at a 4.65 second 40 yard dash. He chose Auburn over schools such as Utah, Tennessee, Iowa State, Washington, Washington State, Arizona, Arizona State and San Diego State. His final three were Auburn, Utah and Tennessee.

He was honorable mention All-State as a senior at Rummel. He was All District as a junior and senior, All District MVP and All Metro. Even though he had 17 sacks as a senior, his only solid scholarship offer out of high school was Southern Illinois, most likely due to his low ACT score. He then sat out of football in 2007.

After a year of classes at Delgado CC, Bonomolo decided to fly to California and play for Fullerton. He was Week 8 SCFA Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week for Fullerton in 2008, racking up 6 solo tackles, 3 assists, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 1 sack. Overall, his 2008 stats include 24 solo tackles, 17 assists, 17 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 10 games.

He was recruited by Trooper Taylor. He is Taylor's third commitment (Coleman and Holland).

Bonomolo will graduate from Fullerton in December and enroll in Auburn in January. He appears to be in good academic standing. He will have three years to play two.