Stony Brook punter, former Chaminade star Anthony Pecorella diagnosed with lymphoma
Maryland punter Anthony Pecorella looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Iowa, Friday, Oct. 1, 2021, in College Park, Md. Credit: AP/Julio Cortez
Stony Brook punter Anthony Pecorella will miss the entire 2023 football season after being diagnosed with lymphoma, he announced Monday in a social media post.
Pecorella was a 2018 Newsday all-Long Island selection from Chaminade and was recruited to Maryland. He became a grad transfer for the Seawolves after four years with the Terrapins in which he averaged 42.1 yards per punt.
“In life, like a game of cards, we are all dealt a hand. What we do with that hand is up to us,” Pecorella wrote. “I was unfortunately dealt a hand that includes something known as lymphoma. Burkitt lymphoma, that is. Due to this. I will be medically redshirting this upcoming season.”
Pecorella went on to write that he is being treated by “the best doctors around who assure me I can and will beat this” and adds “I am doing well, as is my family.” He also gave thanks for the support of those around him.
Stony Brook head coach Chuck Priore called the news “very disappointing.”
While at Maryland, Pecorella had 16 punts of 50 yards or more and placed 31 punts inside the opponents 20-yard line. Stony Brook envisioned him playing a key role in its field position game.
Sophomore Clayton Taylor, who was Stony Brook’s starting punter in 2022 and averaged 37.5 yards per kick, is now expected to reprise that role this season.
“I share this with you today not to ask for your pity, but to assure you that I am going to fight like hell to beat this,” Pecorella wrote. “This is just a bump in the road that needs to be put into the rearview mirror.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
