Riverdale Baptist senior quarterback Dion Golatt made his college decision and committed to Morgan State University on Jan. 22.
“The coaches and the opportunity to receive my education and play early and their trust in me and my playing ability are all the reasons why I made my decision to come here,” Golatt said. “The opportunities the city of Baltimore has a lot to pursue in my career.”
Golatt picked the Bears over Arkansas Pine Bluff, Delaware State and other schools. He tweeted out his commitment, and thanked all of his coaches for helping him make one of the biggest decisions of his life.
Golatt went to Annapolis Area Christian School and was the third string quarterback. Golatt’s performance in practices got him a starting position over upperclassmen at the Anne Arundel County School.
After his junior season at Annapolis Area Christian, Golatt transferred to Riverdale Baptist for his senior season.
“Coming to Riverdale was the best decision I’ve ever made,” Golatt said. “I made it a lot easier for my family for many reasons. I played a great schedule, which helped me improve my game, and I got the chance to play with a lot of great athletes and close friends of mines.”
Throughout his four years on varsity, Golatt’s passing yards increased. Freshman year, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound quarterback threw for 1,026 yards, sophomore year he had 1,640 yards, junior year he registered 1,860 yards, and threw for 2,111 yards his senior year. Golatt has rushed for 1,024 yards in all of his four years combined.
Since arriving at Riverdale Baptist, Golatt has received much attention and honors. He is a Maryland All- State quarterback, and ranked the top quarterback from Maryland at the Nike Elite 11 Regional Camp. Golatt credits the Crusaders Head Coach Caesar Nettles for caring for his players and ability to run a successful team.
“Coach Ceez and his offensive staff is the best I have ever been coached by. Coach Ceez actually cares about his players and does everything he can to make this program successful,” Golatt said. “We ended the season 6-5, but we fought hard throughout the season, and we came together as a family and that was just my goal for my senior year.”
Playing the quarterback position is probably one of the hardest things to do in football. Golatt has handled it well since the start of his high school career. He should not have a big problem adjusting to the college level at Morgan State.
“It was an easy transition coming over the Annapolis playing quarterback at Riverdale,” Golatt said. “It was just a matter of me finding my place, and distinguishing what was going to work and what wasn’t. It took a while but, it was a pleasure and honor”
Nettles spoke on his experience coaching Golatt, and some of the improvement he has seen out of the Morgan State commit.
“Dion is just a natural leader. He’s a hard worker and he has been just that since coming over from Annapolis,” Nettles said. “Morgan has a great opportunity for him, and they really recruited him hard and showed they wanted him. They throw the ball a good amount and that flows just with his game. Dion just has a good tone about him, he is a vocal leader and his play shows it. I think the independent league really helped him coming to Riverdale to boost his recruitment and get him to play different styles of teams.”
Riverdale Baptist Quarterback Coach Derrick Murray wished he could have Golatt longer than a year. Murray said Golatt might have one of the strongest arms he has ever seen out of any high school quarterback.
“Whether I had a kid for one year or four, I take pride in coaching all my quarterbacks and D.J. was no exception. He is a true competitor, who wants to win everything, and that is what I enjoyed most about him,” Murray said. “He has a canon for an arm and the ball shoots out of DJ’s hand with great velocity. All year we worked on situational throwing so that he understood which type of throw to make in a given situation. I think Morgan State is a good school and think he will fit in just fine. He will showcase his talents at the next level.”
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