Kirtland All-Ohio football players Gage Sullivan, Mason Rus headed to John Carroll –

When Gage Sullivan and Mason Rus signed to play college football at John Carroll on April 5, the pair of Kirtland Hornets cited the comfortable feel they got from the Blue Streaks’ program as selling points.

Considering the number of former Kirtland players on John Carroll’s roster, that “comfortable feel” stands to reason.

Sullivan, a first-team Division V All-Ohioan at receiver, and Rus, a first-team D-V All-Ohioan at linebacker, were part of a signing ceremony at the school that also saw Kirtland linebacker Joseph Coleman sign with Muskingum.

i will be continuing my athletic and academic career at John Carroll University #team100 @DaleRodick @hornetstatcrew @OLCoachNystrom @rex_rover @kirtlandFB pic.twitter.com/IsCwGfjOGk

— Gage Sullivan (@Gage_Sullivan20) April 5, 2022

It’s the second year in a row John Carroll has added two first team All-Ohioans from Coach Tiger LaVerde’s program. Last year, defensive back Joey Grazia and running back Mason Sullivan — Gage’s brother — joined the Blue Streaks.

I am very excited to announce that I have committed to further my athletic and academic career at John Carroll University. I want thank all of my friends, family, teammates and coaches who have supported me along the way. @hornetstatcrew @OLCoachNystrom @kirtlandFB @JCUFootball pic.twitter.com/Axw52CZjXd

— Mason Rus (@masonrus25) April 5, 2022

Add in the presence of senior receiver Joey Torok and a pair of coaches — Joey Bates and Anthony Ritossa — and John Carroll has quite the tie with tradition-rich Kirtland.

“Yeah, some refer to it as John Kirtland,” Rus said with a laugh. “It’s good to have friends and relationships there already.”

LaVerde agreed.

“It’s quite a pipeline we’ve got over there,” said the Hornets’ coach.

Rus — the winner of the 2021 Tony Fisher Award as The News-Herald’s football player of the year — chose John Carroll over simply going to Ohio State as a student and thus giving up on his football career. He wasn’t ready to do that.

“I wanted to continue to play football,” Rus said. “I’m going to play defense at John Carroll. I love running the ball, but I enjoy playing defense the most.”

Rus, 6-foot, 185-pounds, finished his senior year with 1,998 yards rushing and 26 touchdowns. He also had more than 120 tackles and 24 TFLs on defense, making him one of the best two-way players in the state.

He plans on majoring in biology with an eye on entering dental school.

Sullivan was a two-way standout for the Hornets as well. Offensively, he had 42 catches for 881 yards and 17 touchdowns, and also ran 40 times for 331 yards and five scores. Defensively, he was a smothering 6-foot-4 defensive back.

He chose John Carroll over preferred walk-on offers at Pitt and Toledo. Sullivan will head to John Carroll with a chip on his shoulder.

“I was told by many I belonged in the Division I area,” he said. “I can’t wait to get started there. I have a lot of motivation to prove to myself and to everyone that they missed out on me. My motivation is to prove everyone who overlooked me wrong.”

The 6-4, 200-pound Sullivan could be a tough matchup for opposing defenses. His height, strength and speed (he ran in the high 4.4s in the 40) should make him a prime target on the college level.

“I can be a problem as a deep threat,” said Sullivan, who had a pair of highlight-reel catches in Kirtland’s past state title games.

Sullivan plans to major in business at John Carroll.

Coleman was a two-year starter at linebacker for the Hornets. He had 130 tackles this past season.