The moment Roman Braglio completed the 40-yard dash in 4.65-seconds at the University of Pittsburgh’s football camp earlier this summer, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound rising McDonogh junior made the transformation from being a pretty good player to bonafide Division I recruit.

“I think that the University of Pittsburgh was the school that was really impressed the most. Basically, they told us that if he plays with the same intensity that he did at the camp, they’re going to offer him,” said coach Dom Damico of Braglio, who bench presses 275 pounds, recovered two fumbles and had “between eight and 10 sacks” last for Damico’s Eagles last fall.

“They [Pittsburgh] can’t offer him as a sophomore, but I’m sure that they’re pretty close to offering him a scholarship. The University of Maryland’s pretty close to offering him as well. Roman went down to the University of Virginia and he had a great workout for UVA. And then he went to to Penn State,” said Damico. “So Roman’s on all of their radar screens. Once he gets through this junior year, then I believe that he will have a lot of opportunities. I think this is just the first little wave of guys that are jumping on him as a sophomore.”

A three-sport athlete, Braglio was a 215-pound MIAA and private schools state runner-up for the Eagles’ wrestling team and played defense on their MIAA A Conference playoff semifinalist lacrosse team.

The 17-year-old Braglio, who was a B-student last year, shared his thoughts on the recruiting process as well as his future in this Q&A.

So Roman, how does it feel to be a Division I football recruit?

Roman Braglio: It feels pretty good I guess. It’s exciting. I don’t know.

Can you tell me what your thoughts were as you crossed the finish line and learned that you had done it in 4.65 seconds?

Actually, I trained for it. I crossed the line and I asked the coach what I ran, and I was actually very surprised by it. It was just really, really exciting to hear that. I couldn’t believe that I had actually run that fast.

When they say that you worked out well at these camps, how does that translate to you?

The first part was the combine stuff. When I ran my 40, that was good. My broad jump and everything like that. We went outside, and I just put all of that combine stuff into like the feel of a game. We did a bunch of one-on-ones and stuff, and I was just running around everybody.

I went against everyone and I really didn’t have anybody block me.

Have you ever dreamed of playing at any of the colleges that are recruiting you?

I don’t know. Looking at a school like Penn State and Pitt, I mean, both of those campuses are just amazing. Just to picture myself at either of those two places is just mind-blowing. I mean, it’s crazy. It’s really exciting just to have the opportunity to be in position to do that.

Having played lacrosse, wrestled and played football, do you foresee yourself continuing all three sports for the remainder of your high school career?

It depends on what happens. It depends on what my coaches say. Like, if Coach Damico says that he doesn’t want me doing one of the other sports because I might get hurt, then, I guess that I won’t do it.

But right now, I think that there’s a pretty good chance that I’ll continue playing all three sports. They’re all good for staying in shape, you know? I’ll definitely stay in the gym and keep on building up my strength and my skills, you know?

Do you believe that you will be wrestling heavyweight next year?

Yeah, I’m probably definitely going to wrestle heavyweight next year. My goal right now is to be at least 235, 240 pounds next season. I feel like I’m putting on the pounds right now, but I’m just recovering from getting my wisdom teeth pulled.

So I’ve lost a couple of pounds. But I’ll put that back on pretty soon.

How do you believe that the increase in weight will translate onto the lacrosse field?

It will be a challenge. I’m trying to get big, but I’m not trying to be big and stiff to where I can’t move around. I’m doing all of my mobility workouts correctly and we do that every day. I’m not just lifting and getting fat. I’m trying to stay pretty light on my feet.