Central Catholic QB Petlansky commits to Columbia University

Quarterback Hunter Petlansky doesn’t take too many chances with the football.

Now imagine how protective he is of his future.

The Central Catholic senior has committed to play football at Columbia University, choosing an Ivy League degree over a BCS dream. He made the announcement on Twitter Wednesday evening.

“Excited to announce that I have committed to play football at Columbia!” read the tweet, which also featured three images: Columbia’s logo, Petlansky in uniform for the Raiders, and another of him donning a Columbia T-shirt.

Petlansky had interest of varying degrees from Yale, Princeton, Cal, Stanford, Arizona and a handful of Mountain West schools, but chose the Lions after meeting with the new coaching staff earlier this month in New York City.

The Lions haven’t won a game in more than two years, including back-to-back 0-10 seasons. Their last win was a 34-17 triumph over Cornell on Nov. 10, 2012.

But there is hope on the horizon.

Columbia hired Al Bagnoli, who brought in his own staff and signed a class featuring four highly touted quarterbacks: University of Florida transfer Skyler Mornhinweg, the son of Baltimore Ravens assistant Marty Mornhinweg; Daniel Hong, a four-time Nevada state champion at Bishop Gorman; Kyle Castner, Indiana’s Mr. Football; and Ryan Suitt, a dual-threat type out of Forth Worth, Texas.

Petlansky, a pro-style quarterback, will join the fray in the fall of 2016.

“I’m impressed with the coaching staff and I’ve seen some of the commitments they’ve received,” he said. “I have faith the program will turn around soon.

“I’m looking forward to getting in there and seeing if I can earn a spot. No matter where you go, you’ll have to compete for something.”

Petlansky is 21-3 as Central Catholic’s starting quarterback.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder transferred from St. Mary’s in Stockton before the start of his sophomore season and didn’t take over the offense until Week 9 against Ceres.

The Raiders went unbeaten the rest of the way, capping their season with a 36-23 victory over Bakersfield Christian in the CIF State Division IV bowl game.

Last season, Central Catholic made the jump to the Valley Oak League, a Division III power conference. The Raiders finished tied for second in league play but dropped to Division IV for the postseason. The Raiders closed with their third consecutive state championship – a 31-19 win over St. Margaret’s – joining De La Salle as the only teams to accomplish the three-peat.

Petlansky has thrown for 2,586 yards, rushed for 1,034 more and totaled 42 touchdowns. His success at the high school level generated interest from Pac-12 and Mountain West schools.

In the end, though, Petlansky took a long-lens approach. He wanted to attend a university that offered him the highest level of education while satisfying his dream of playing at the Division I level.

“Playing pro football is everyone’s dream, but this was definitely a life-after-football type of decision for me,” said Petlansky, who carries a weighted GPA of 4.4. “You can’t beat a degree from Columbia, and I still get to play Division I football. It seemed like a great fit all the way around.”

His commitment continues a recent trend on the Carpenter Road campus. He is the fifth student-athlete since 2011-12 to commit to a prestigious university, according to athletic director Billy Hylla.

Sophomore Kenny Smart will kick for the Harvard football team this fall, while Craig Jones is a senior linebacker at Stanford. Matt Ringer is a running back at the University of Chicago, where he’s majoring in economics. Madeline O’Brien, a 2012 graduate, rows crew for Columbia.

“We do have success on the field, but it’s the academic side that sets these kids up for life,” said Hylla. “We take a lot of pride in seeing them get to Ivy League schools and other high-level institutions.”

This story was originally published July 23, 2015 at 6:26 PM with the headline "Central Catholic QB Petlansky commits to Columbia University."