St Joes Prep OL Lakeem Steele commits to Merrimack

Tagged under: District 12, News, pfn, Recruiting

Anthony Franklin | September 3, 2023

Lakeem Steele is a senior 6-2 300 lb interior offensive lineman for defending PIAA 6A champions St. Joes Prep. A 3 year starter Lakeem recently announced his commitment to FCS Merrimack College an FCS program that plays in the Northeast Conference.

When asked about factors that led to him deciding to commit today to Merrimack he said “throughout my entire recruiting process Merrimack has especially been a school that has shown the most love every step of the way. Coach Rosenbaum was constantly talking to me all the time and showing love. After I visited the school and toured the campus I really fell in love with the place.”

While he had interest from several schools he stated that “LIU was the only other school I was seriously considering committing to, especially after my visit. Ultimately I had to weigh the pros and cons of each school to determine which was a better fit. My recruiting process was pretty slow throughout my first 3 years of high school, only picking up little interest. My height played a major role in picking up traction in my recruiting. But as my film kept getting better each year my interest eventually grew and more and more coaches spoke with me. Bethune Cookman threw the first offer and the rest followed.”

To open the season the Hawks opened in a neutral site game against #4 ranked IMG which has a host of 4/5 star players including Oklahoma commit DL David Stone. When asked what that experience did for him and how he viewed the experience he said “ IMG had an excellent defensive front and they put up a huge struggle the entire game. I feel as though I held my own against all of em and showed that I can handle Power 5 prospects and defensive lineman who have the edge on me in size. Stone is a great player who really put me and my brothers to the test.”

With regards to finishing out his senior season Lakeem says “My Goals for the rest of the season is of course to win out every single game and eventually win State chip. 1 step at a time. I would like to push for being 1st Team All-State this year as well as spreading as much knowledge and technique as possible to the young guys.”

Lastly he wanted to give love to those who have helped him along the way and says “I would like to thank my mom and dad for always being the ones standing in my corner from day 1. Pushing me to come to Prep and taking care of me. I would like to thank all of my coaches for teaching me how to be a man for and with others and allowing me to grow and earn my stripes as an offensive lineman. I would also like to thank all my friends and teammates who have been there in the struggle with me, pushing me to be better and being there for me at my lows. Without these people in my life I wouldn’t be where I am today. #MACKTOUGH

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