FauntLeRoy signs with Fighting Saints
<p>Brian FauntLeRoy shakes a tackle in the 2015 State A championship game at Dillon.</p>
Bulldog defensive back Brian FauntLeRoy will suit up on Saturdays next season for Carroll College.
The Whitefish senior signed a national letter of intent Jan. 6 to play safety with the Fighting Saints in Helena.
FauntLeRoy was a three-year starter for the Bulldogs. He capped his prep career as an All-State selection and was picked as a first team all-conference safety, wide receiver and returner. A two-way player, FauntLeRoy caught 40 passes for 532 yards and eight touchdowns his senior season.
Carroll coach Mike Van Diest says they’ve had an eye on FauntLeRoy since his junior season, but it was his performance in the State A title game that sealed the deal. FauntLeRoy helped lift the Bulldogs to a 17-13 victory over Dillon for the Class A championship.
“Playing a couple of positions on defense and then watching him play running back in the state championship game confirmed our evaluation of Brian and the type of athlete that he was,” Van Diest said. “He runs very well, he has great lateral movement and he is an outstanding tackler in the open field.”
Van Diest plans to play FauntLeRoy in the secondary.
“I feel that he can be an outstanding player in our defense,” he said.
Whitefish coach Chad Ross said FauntLeRoy — a 4.0 student — will mesh well with Carroll football and academics.
“He’s one of the smartest defensive backs we’ve ever had in Whitefish,” Ross said. “He’s smart, athletic, humble — all those attributes will help him be successful in college and life.”
Van Diest likes FauntLeRoy’s personality believes he can be a leader.
“He is a confident young man but not cocky,” Van Diest said. “He does not have a sense of entitlement but rather a belief of empowerment.”
Carroll plays in the NAIA Frontier Conference and has won six national championships since 2002. The team went just 4-6 last season.
FauntLeRoy is the second member of the Bulldogs to commit to play football in college next year, joining fellow wideout Jed Nagler, who is committed to the University of Montana. Whitefish quarterback Luke May will attend the University of Minnesota to throw javelin.
Ross says a few others from the championship team are considering offers.