CCHS' Guarisco inks with Nicholls

Central Catholic High School coach Tommy Minton said some schools told standout running back Stefano Guarisco he was too small to play college football.
When he signed on the dotted line with Nicholls State University Wednesday, it not only allowed him to continue his football career, but also to prove the doubters wrong in the coming four years as a Colonel.
“It’s always great to see kids that work hard and chase a dream and chase a dream in the right way by putting in the work to try to achieve those goals to be rewarded, and that’s what’s happened here,” Minton said. “A lot of schools told him he was too small and he fed off of that to keep working harder and he’s going to be able to now prove to people that they were wrong.”
Guarisco said the opportunity to sign to play college football was “very humbling” for him.
“Some points in the road, you don’t think you’re going to be signing, whether it be adversity that you face and you got to overcome it, so it’s very humbling,” Guarisco said. “Without God, without my family, without coaches, teammates, none of this would be possible. They all strived (for) me to do the best, and I can only thank them enough.”
Guarisco certainly dominated high school football in Class 1A at Central Catholic, especially as a senior.
He not only set the school record in rushing yards for a season as a senior but he finished his career as both Central Catholic’s all-time and single-season rushing leader. He also was tops in school history in single-season and career touchdowns.
Guarisco finished his senior season with 299 carries for 2,728 yards and 39 touchdowns. He also caught 15 passes for 312 yards and five touchdowns. He finished the season with 47 overall touchdowns and 32 two-point conversions.
He earned first-team Class 1A All-State honors from both the Louisiana Sportswriters Association and the Louisiana Football Coaches Association.
Guarisco was a second-team selection in USA TODAY High School Sports’ 2015 American Family Insurance All-USA Louisiana Football team and was named the Outstanding Offensive Player on the Acadiana Advocate’s All-Metro football team for Classes 3A-1A.
Additionally, he was named the District 7-1A Offensive Most Valuable Player this season.
Minton said Guarisco is “one of the most competitive and grittiest kids that I’ve coached. …. I told somebody this morning Nicholls is getting a kid that is a good football player. He’s quick, and he might be short, but he’s not small because he’s very compactly built but he’s explosive.”
Guarisco said Nicholls was with him all along.
“I went on two unofficial visits,” he said. “Coaches were always contacting.”
He said factors that attracted him to the Colonels were the atmosphere as well as teammates from high school playing for Nicholls already, Garret LeBlanc and Josh Singleton.
“Just being familiar with the campus,” Guarisco said. “I’ve been over there a lot. Just the coaches. You can tell the whole attitude changed. The culture’s changing. It’s becoming a winning attitude.”
Guarisco also had an offer from Arkansas-Monticello, which is led by ex-Central Catholic head football coach Hud Jackson.