Joseph Culotta '24 Recruiting Profile

As part of our starting defense rotation, we only allowed 1 touchdown in the 9 game regular season and allowed only 2 touchdowns in 3 playoff games.  We finished our regular season undefeated (9-0).  We won the Interstate 8 conference and were ranked 1st in state Class 5A and 6th overall in Illinois going into the state playoffs.  

I come from a family of competitive athletes. My grandfather was a 2-time Louisiana all-state wrestler in high school and the captain of his track team in college. My father had an opportunity to play either Div I football or baseball. Ultimately, he chose to play Div I baseball and was later recruited by the Cincinnati Reds. My mom was a Div II college softball pitcher. 

As for me, you can say the apple didn't fall far from the tree.  I am a 2-sport athlete.  I have been very fortunate during my high school football career. My sophomore season I mainly played both ways on the JV team but played up for varsity as a backup as well.  That year, our varsity team made it to the state semi-finals losing to the team that ultimately won state.  My junior season (2022-23) I was 1 of only 4 juniors that started due to our talent-rich senior class.  Ultimately, our season ended in a 10-7 loss in the semi-final game to a team that went on to win the state championship game..  

I have a very competitive mentality both on and off of the field.  I was raised to always give 110% in everything I do. I lead by example and am very well respected by my peers. I am determined to succeed and I refuse to accept failure. I am very confident in my abilities and will not quit anything once I get it set in my mind. I also show these qualities in my studies having been placed in several AP and honors classes I currently carry a 4.31 GPA.  I have also been accepted to the National Honor Society in October, 2022.