Division II football in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is no joke.
Regularly, this elite conference produces players who go on to play either in the NFL or the Canadian Football League. For former Otto-Eldred Terror and current Gannon Knight Seth Drummond, the chance to play at the Division II level and become a physician’s assistant in just five years is a dream come true.
He played baseball, basketball, and football for the Terrors and vowed to help rebuild and re-establish pride in high school sports at his school after several down years.
Beginning his athletic career in t-ball at the age of five and then picking up basketball and football just a few years later, Drummond dedicated nearly all of the time he was not busy taking advanced and college classes during high school to improving his abilities as an athlete, and especially as a football player.
When asked how growing up in a town of less than 1,000 people played to his advantage so far in life, Drummond said, “I think growing up in the Otto-Eldred area helped me become a genuine person. It also did not force me to pick and choose a specific sport which made me not get tired of playing any of them prior to coming to college.”
Drummond excelled in all three sports in high school, but it was no question football was his best. In addition to winning four letters, he also became the school’s all-time leading rusher while also being named an AML All-Star three times and a Big 30 All-Star twice. His play also helped the Terrors win the Allegheny Mountain League North division championship in his senior season.
In high school basketball, Drummond helped lead the Terrors to the District 9 playoffs and into the PIAA state playoffs for the first time in school history. The Terrors went from a below average D9 team to one of the areas best because of the leadership of Drummond and the play of him and his teammates.
However, the road there was not always easy.
During his junior season of football, Drummond faced a season-ending injury with a torn ACL. The injury kept him out of competition for the rest of his junior season, but did allow him to get back for the start of football his senior year.
“The injury showed me what I wanted to do as a career,” he recalled. “I knew I wanted to go into medicine from going through the rehab and treatment to get back on the field. The injury also allowed my brother Sawyer and many of my teammates to get great game experience in all three sports which we used in my senior year to have one of the most successful years in Terror history.”
Drummond was able to continue his success in football in his senior season which made local college coaches take notice. His stellar play earned him an invite to the Big 30 football game in which he helped the Keystone State defeat New York in the 2017 game by a score of 48-30. While several colleges recruited Drummond, none gave Seth the opportunity to become a physician’s assistant and play football at the Division II level like Gannon did.
“Gannon was everything I was looking for.” Drummond said. “I was not heavily recruited by them, but after visiting the campus and enough conversation with the coaches, they offered me a spot on the team. It was the perfect fit that allowed me to redshirt my freshman year to get ready for the college game and also it would allow me a fifth year of being in school to finish becoming a P.A.”
As a redshirt freshman last year, he became a key member of the Knights’ special teams. Drummond has played on kickoff, kick return, punt, and punt return. He recorded five tackles in his first year as a collegiate varsity athlete, but has yet to have a carry as a running-back.
“I am hopeful that over the next three years I will get some action at running back, but I am happy that I can help the team in any way at all. I will continue to work hard to try to contribute for this program any way I can for the remainder of my football career,” he said.
Drummond said he has plenty of people to thank for his athletic successes to date.
“I definitely need to start with my parents and family,” he said. “My dad has been my personal coach and mentor since I was little and has taught me the importance of hard work and staying composed as an athlete.
“I also need to talk about my brother Sawyer and how much I enjoyed playing alongside him for many years. It was some of my best memories in sports playing with him on my team and I sure do miss those days.”
Drummond also listed coaches Virgil Graham, Jame Thomas, Nick Labella and Dan Dalton as great coaches and mentors who pushed him to become a better athlete.
With three years left as a student athlete, Drummond hopes he is the small town kid people can get behind and root for. He has faced great adversity after a knee injury, but has used it as motivation to get better while also learning that he has a passion for medicine.
