Q&A with St. John's of Shrewsbury WR Jay Brunelle

SOUTH WEYMOUTH — On Saturday, Jay Brunelle of St. John's of Shrewsbury competed with NE Red during the first round of games with Legacy New England Football 7-on-7 at the Union Sports Complex.

Brunelle is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound wide receiver who had a tremendous junior season with the Pioneers. He caught 70 passes for 1,157 yards and 18 touchdowns for a St. John's team that went 8-4 and reached the MIAA Division 3 state semifinals.

For his efforts, Brunelle has become a hot commodity on the recruiting trail, as programs like Boston College, Michigan, UMass, Holy Cross, and Harvard have all come calling with offers.

MassVarsity caught up with Brunelle after one of his early games to get his thoughts on his experience with Legacy, his recruitment process, and what he expects out of his season with the Pioneers next fall.

Here is an edited version of that conversation.

MassVarsity: How long have you been doing this with Legacy?

Jay Brunelle: It's my third year. I've been here since the start, since the start in Shrewsbury in a little, tiny facility. We just had one team. It wasn't a league. To see it grow this big, it's nice.

MV: What was it like to go through the tryout process?

JB: They got a lot of kids to come out. It's really competitive. I think it's a great way to develop your skills in the offseason and get ready for the fall.

MV: The teams are selected by a draft. What's that process like?

JB: So, originally, I was on Team Black last year. . . . Now I'm on Team Red. So, it's kind of a crazy process, but it's good.

MV: What's this offseason been like for you? How many offers are you up to?

JB: I'm at 10.

MV: I know it's early, but are you going to start whittling down which ones you want to consider the most?

JB: I'm going to keep all my options open. I'm going to Duke, Notre Dame, Northwestern in the spring. Just going to keep all my options open and make a decision by, honestly, I don't know when.

MV: What are your goals for the regular season with St. John's and all that?

JB: We've got most of our offense coming back. Last year, we made it to the state semifinals and put up a good fight against Springfield Central. We have some high expectations to meet. I want to go out on top as a state champion, so that's what we're planning on doing.

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